Life on Mars
by The Renegade Waffle
Summary: A Human is transported to Equestria. Now seemingly trapped in the body of a Pony, he tries to remain undercover. Meanwhile, a military task force travels across dimensions to initiate the invasion of Equestria. However everything is not as it seems...
1. In the begining

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

Our story begins in a very rainy England, in the suburbs of North London. Inside the bedroom where a being under the covers was in a deep sleep. It was early lunch-time before the lump under the covers stirred to the sound of music growing louder from his night stand.

_There must be some kind of way outta here,_

The figure lurched to the side and grabbed the culprit, his Iphone.

_Said the Joker to the Thei-_

Jimi Hendrix's lyrical musings and guitar wailings where cut short by a quick jab of the "Accept call" button. The figure brought the device up the side of his head and pinched his brow.

"Yeah?..."

"Hi sleepy-head!" His mother joked, "Enjoying your day off?"

"...Um, yeah, yeah I-" He stifled a yawn.

"Oh Gareth, I understand a lie-in once in while, but midday, really?" Gareth's mother scolded.

"Yeah sorry 'bout that.." He stood up and stretched, "Ok, what did you call for?"

"Oh yes, I won't be home until late, probably 8pm latest," Gareth heard his mother sigh, "Boss wants me to do over-time again tonight."

"Sorry about that Mam," Gareth replied sympathetically, "D'you want me to get the shopping in?"

"Oh Gareth that's be lovely thank you." She paused, "Listen I gotta go, love you."

"Love you to." The line went dead.

Gareth replaced the Iphone on the night stand and walked to the other end of the room and opened the curtains, revealing the current state of the weather to him.

"Welcome to England," He joked as he turned around and caught himself in the mirror.

Staring back at him was a very scruffy looking 18 year-old, stood in only some pyjama esque jogging bottoms. His blonde hair was of medium length, the fringe almost coming down over his eyebrows, with little tufts of hair sticking out from behind his ears. Looking closer, Gareth noticed the blonde stubble that graced his jawline and above his lips was starting to darken.

Breaking away from his reflection he opened his door only to trip of a black ball of fluff which let out a small cry at being kicked. After regaining his balance, Gareth turned to find his pet, his best friend, a small black cat, with long hair and yellow eyes looking back at him. Harry, some people thought the name was stupid, but Gareth knew it suited him fine.

Harry broke the silence first.

"Mew" he spoke as he walked up to his owner and brushed past his legs, before turning around and going in for another brush.

"Some people say that cats do not care for their owners at all" Gareth talked to himself as he picked Harry up put him over his shoulder. "I think your the exception to the rule ey, Mr. H?"

Harry in question responded with a purr and nuzzled his head against Gareth's neck. Gareth walked back to his room before placing Harry on the bed, where the young cat proceeded to pad away at the duvet as Gareth walked off to have a shower.

He came back feeling rejuvenated and quickly dressed himself; chinos, a dull blue T-shirt and plimsolls and made himself presentable, he stood in the mirror with an empty stare. Gears in his head churning, about his current situation.

At a first glance Gareth would seem to have the perfect life: he had passed all of his exams, had a good standing within his community, was fairly popular at school, hell, he was even the lead singer in a band!

However, Gareth was not happy, he was constantly depressed or just in a sad frame of mind. What probably annoyed him most about his state of mind was that he could not place a finger on why he was feeling like this, when he told his mum about it she simply responded with "It's just hormones dear..."

He walked over to the corner of the room and and opened his laptop, it whirred into life; unusually loud for starting up from being turned off. He then remembered that he did not shut it off properly the previous night. Gareth pulled up a chair and almost eagerly awaited what would appear on the screen. He almost fell off his chair in fright as a the face of a pink cartoon Pony filled the screen. A second later he realised what or rather who was on screen.

Pinkie Pie. A character from the popular cartoon show "My little Pony: Friendship is Magic". For a split second Gareth tried to remember why he was watching this. Then it dawned on him. Last night he was chatting over IM to friend of his who brought up the topic of "Bronies", a person; a male, who likes and actively watches MLP: FiM. After a bout of curiosity he told his friend he'd be "brb" and gone on Youtube to watch the first episode to see what the fuss was about. 6 episodes and several hours later he was hooked and grew to like each and everyone of the characters, although his favourite was probably Fluttershy. The way she cared for animals and her general mindset made her a likeable character in Gareth's books. And the relationship between her and her Bunny, Angel, reminded Gareth of the relationship between him and Harry.

He turned away and reached to the drawer the desk the laptop sat and yanked it open, Gareth lifted up some papers and sat hidden in the drawer, was a brass Zippo lighter and a packet of Marlboro cigarettes. He picked them up with both hands and trundled downstairs. He wasn't happy that he had a nicotine addiction, if someone had approached him and told him that he would be smoking regularly, he would've laughed them off, stating that "Hell would freeze over".

_Looks like it has after all. _Gareth mused as he stepped onto the staircase.

The staircase had no banister on the outside, leaving almost a sheer drop on the other-side, instead the banister was fixed onto the wall.

As Gareth was halfway down the staircase when Harry came barrelling down the stairs and swerved in-between Gareth's legs tripping him. Gareth let out a cry as he fell off to his left and down into the hallway below, his head hit the ground with an almost bone-sickening _-crack-_ and it all went black.

Gareth took a breath sharply, almost as if coming up for air from being underwater. He lay there for a few moments, before slowly getting up. His hands had been locked in a death-grip around his packet of fags and Zippo. Gareth looked outside from his seated postion and noticed that the rain had gone and the sun was lower in the sky, upon further investigation Gareth noticed that the standing water left on the path had dried up.

_Christ... How long was I out? _He wondered.

He trudged back up the stairs completely forgetting about getting his 'fix' of nicotine and entered his room, stuffed his narcotics and Zippo into his pockets and grabbed his Iphone from the night stand. However when Gareth looked at the screen of the device it displayed a message.

"Look at your Laptop?" Gareth read the message aloud as he turned to face his still running laptop. He jumped in surprise when the screen which displayed Pinkie Pie's happy face was now a swirling whirlpool of blackness with a violet glow. Gareth felt himself being dragged into the vortex and tried to grip onto the nearest available object for support. He clutched the edge of the desk with one hand with his other still clutching his Iphone.

At this moment Harry bounded up the stairs and ran into the room, Gareth looked up in time to see his cat smash into his face and loosen his grip on his desk sending him into the swirling blackness. Gareth only had one thing on his mind when the darkness claimed him.

_Wish I'd stayed in bed..._

Gareth opened his eyes with a start. In his head only his primary functions were functioning. Was he in shock? He had no clue, and to be fair, he didn't care a bit. All he wanted was to get to safety.

Finally he took notice of a cottage he seemed to be collapsed in front of, he steadily got to his feet and instinctively walked to the front door, hoping that the occupants where home, and that the did not mind being woken at this hour, and rapped gently three times with his hoof.

A moments silence settled in before someone behind the door spoke softly.

"Y-yes, just a second..."

Gareth relaxed and felt more at ease and decided tha-

Wait, hooves?

Gareth looked down, and let out a comical shriek. There where two hooves where he'd expect his feet to be. He craned his neck and saw that it was the same story behind him too. He started to panic while taking inventory of himself, startling himself when he discovered a bright yellow tail protruding from where... well nothing used to be, and wings! He had wings!

He was so panicked he didn't even hear the door open, more or less the inhabitant, a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane.

"Hello? Can I -eep!-"

The Pony's last cry caused Gareth to turn around and look at who had answered the door. He recognised her instantly.

"What the?..." He breathed.

He collapsed on the startled Pegasus' doorstep.

**Whelp, waddya know? I come stumbling back into with a MLP:FiM story.**

**Okay, you're probably wondering.**

**Yes, I am a Brony!**

**Yes, this is a self-insertion fic! (However just to point out, my name ISN'T Gareth, although his personality and mindset are mine.)**

**Yes, this is going to be updated regularly**

**So, guys you know the drill R&R (Read and Review) and constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	2. Rude Awakening

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

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><p>"Well, this is peculiar, wouldn't you agree Angel?"<p>

The small Bunny looked up at it's carer and gave a swift nod before returning it's gaze to the Colt who lay on the couch in a deep slumber.

Angel had awoken to the sound of Fluttershy's scream, when he came bounding downstairs to see what the commotion was, (he'd admit that he'd been fairly flustered by the fact that his rest had been disturbed!) but when he reached the bottom of the stairs and found Fluttershy dragging an unconscious Colt in through the doorway, he'd done his best to help by dragging his tan coloured satchel in through to the front room and toss it across the room before watching Fluttershy prop the Colt up on the couch.

Fluttershy whistled a little tune and a green Bird of medium size flew down from the rafters and perched on Fluttershy's hoof.

"Hello, erm sorry to disturb you," Fluttershy hid behind her mane, "Could you please escort Angel here to Twilight Sparkle's home and tell her to get the others here please? If it's not too much trouble with you..."

The Bird chirped happily and due to it's size was able to stand Angel's weight on it's back and fluttered off through the window which Fluttershy held open.

"B-be careful you two!" She called softly, before turning to the Colt who lay in a deep slumber on her couch.

His coat was a dull gun-metal blue, while his mane was a bright blonde colour. He was a Pegasus; much like herself however, he was a little bit taller than most Pegasai, but still well proportioned. Fluttershy also took note of that judging by the way his wings twitched in his slumber, he looked like he had never flown before. Fluttershy stepped closer to inspect his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest was rhythmical and steady, she sighed softly and smiled.

However Fluttershy took notice of one thing, there was no Cutie mark on his flank! Fluttershy had never heard of anypony never getting their Cutie marks in their lives. She made a mental note to inquire to Twilight about such a thing and whether she had read any books on the subject. Deciding that the Colt was fine, Fluttershy focused her attention on the tan bag that Angel had brought in.

She trotted over to it and studied it, it was an unusual looking satchel, rather than draped over a Pony's back like normal bags, this one seemed to been intended to have been worn around the shoulder and hang just behind a Pony's front hoof. Picking it up by her teeth, Fluttershy carried it over to the table near to armchairs near the window and emptied it's contents onto it.

What spilled forth was some very strange objects that she had never seen before, a white and red box which smelt funny to Fluttershy, and heavy brass object which (after some experimenting by Fluttershy) had a lid which opened. The final object looked the most unusual, a slim black object which, when Fluttershy touched it with her hoof, sprung into life and started blaring some form of music from it's tiny speakers scaring Fluttershy to the extent she let out a small cry and backed right into the couch where the Colt was sleeping.

The combined effort of both the singing of Jimi Hendrix and Fluttershy backing into the couch he was on woke Gareth up with a start. He looked down at himself and, still finding himself to be a Pony, started to scream. Fluttershy decided the best course of action right now was to scream as well, albeit at a very timid tone.

Gareth screamed for a whole 3 seconds before instinct took over and he got up and tapped the Iphone with his hoof and cut Hendrix off in the middle of a sentence for the second time today. Fluttershy seemed to have also calmed down, now that the screaming and the strange music had stopped.

They both started at each other for a while, the tension thick in the air. Until finally for the first time in her life, Fluttershy broke the ice first.

"Um- hello, I'm sorry if I startled you, she scuffed the floor with her hoof and hid behind her mane.

"Oh, er, no, not at all!" Gareth let out a half-hearted laugh, "Sorry I don't even know your name?.."

"Oh! My n-name is Fluttershy..." She replied timidly.

"Pardon?" Gareth strained forward ever so slightly.

"It's Fluttershy..." she said again, this time a little louder.

"Oh, well... It's very nice to meet you Fluttershy." Gareth bowed his head a little in acknowledgement, "My name is Gareth, but everyone just calls me Gaz..."

There was a moments silence.

"Wh-where am I by the way?"

Of course, Gareth knew where he was, Fluttershy's cottage. However he decided playing the 'dumb/Amnesia card' for now.

"This is my home," Fluttershy smiled a little bit, "Y-you er knocked on my door remember?"

_CRAP, I do remember, the fall, the vortex... Where the hell is Harry? Oh no..._

"Um... Hello?..." Fluttershy asked timidly,Fluttershy seemed to have noticed his moment of thought.

"Er, no! I mean... No I'm afraid I don't know how I got here.." Gareth hang his head in shame, he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Gareth had just realised that, everything he knew was gone, his parents, Harry, his friends, heck even his world was gone.

And there was no way back.

"Oh! Gare- I mean Gaz, please don't be sad!" Fluttershy trotted up to Colt and hugged him

The warmth Fluttershy provided was comforting and helped calm him down as he returned the hug. Fluttershy released after a few seconds, Gareth noticed that she was blushing as she turned her head to hide it behind her mane, Gareth felt a warmth in his cheeks too.

"S-sorry..." Fluttershy whimpered, "I shouldn't have done that..."

"Hey now, come on.." This time it was Gareth's time to return the hug as he comforted her. "Nothing wrong with hugging people when they're down!"

She returned it and they both released each other after a while, Fluttershy looked up at him and smiled, which he returned.

At that moment there was a rap at the door, Fluttershy seemed started for a moment before coming to her senses and opened the door. Stood there was a violet Pony with a purple and pink mane with a horn sticking out the top of her head. Perched on her back where Angel the Bunny and the green Bird. Gareth recognised her immediately.

_Twilight Sparkle..._

"Fluttershy I came as quickly as could what's wrong?" She poked her head through the door and her eyes fell on Gareth. She looked back at Fluttershy almost with a startled expression before she explained the situation to her.

"- and unfortunately he doesn't remember how he got here..." Fluttershy looked from Gareth to Twilight, "And then you arrived."

Twilight closed her eyes for a second, gathering her thoughts before turning to Gareth.

"You don't remember how you got here?" She asked,

"No sorry..." Gareth shuffled his hooves.

"What about where you come from?" Twilight had a quizzical look on her face.

Gareth feigned a look of extreme thought before answering, "I'm really sorry Twilight Sparkle, I cannot remember a thing."

Twilight's face softened, "Please Gaz, just call me Twilight, not even my parents call me that!"

Gareth and Twilight laughed a little at this before Fluttershy spoke up.

"Gaz?" He turned to her, "You can stay the night here... I mean, if that's what you want to..."

"Sure Fluttershy I'll stay the night," Gareth smiled, "You sure I won't be imposing?"

"Oh! Of course not!" Fluttershy perked up slightly, "I have a spare room in the back that's just been gathering dust..."

"And tomorrow," Twilight stated heading for the door, "I can introduce you to my friends, I'm sure they'd love to meet you. Especially Pinkie Pie..."

Gareth knew a hell of a lot more than he was letting on, and he especially knew what to expect when Twilight mentioned Pinkie.

"Well I'm going to hit the hay for the second time tonight!" Twilight joked as she left, "See you both in the morning."

"Goodbye Twilight."

"See-ya Twi."

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><p>Fluttershy lead Gareth up to his room for the night, it was nothing special, a simple bed and a night stand. Gareth insisted to Fluttershy that the room was fine and she had better just go to bed. Eventually, she got the hint and left Gareth alone in his room.<p>

He placed his satchel on the night stand before inspecting it, all of the things he had on his person before 'the trip' where in it. He eventually deduced that when travelling through dimensions/ time and space, Chino pants will become satchel bags, much to his amusement.

Still he still had to figure out a way back to HIS world, he knew that he couldn't stay here forever. However, he also knew that this WAS Ponyville of MLP:FiM fame..

_I guess I could enjoy this little escapade while it lasts..._ Gareth thought with grin as he climbed into his bed.

Sleep claimed him quickly, almost as soon as he hit the pillow. His last thought was centred around one certain Pony. A Pony with a pink mane.

Out in the Ever-free forest, a common rule is that nothing is as what it seems.

A black object moved across the thicket on the forest floor, almost enveloping light from around it, like a black hole.

A small rodent took a gamble and ran across a clearing only to be pounced by the darkness.

The last thing the rodent saw was 6 glowing eyes.

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><p><strong>I'm making a note here:<strong>

**Huge success!**

**Remember to R&R and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	3. Day One

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

Gaz slowly opened his eyes.

It took him a split second to realise that he was not at home in his bed, but rather in Fluttershy's cottage. Gaz rolled out of bed, landing on his hooves, and began to inspect the room in the daylight.

The bed was facing a small desk with a mirror that Gaz had not seen when he entered, approaching it he noticed multiple pictures of Fluttershy and her friends. Of course Gaz recognised them all; there was even a photo of them with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, obviously taken soon after Nightmare Moon's defeat at hands of the Elements of Harmony.

Looking to his left towards the door, Gaz saw a wardrobe, roughly 6 feet high. He decided the best course of action was not to snoop inside of it and turn back to the mirror on the desk so he could get a good look at himself.

Gaz's mane was much like his hair was when he was a human, fringe going down to just above his eyebrows and swept off to his left. He was surprised at how it seemed to have not moved or ruffled in his sleep, nor how it seemed dirty at all. Gaz realised that his clothes must have affected his appearance; as the dull Bluey-Gray T-shirt he had on must've affected the colour of his coat. Gaz laughed a little at the image of what he would have looked like if he had decided to wear a Green T-shirt. His actual proportions had affected his 'Pony-ism', back as a human, Gaz probably would've been described by his friends as "Verging on Lanky", and that seemed to be reflected in his new body.

Another thing Gaz noticed was that his eyes, which he would've described as 'Steely grey', were in fact that. What startled him more was that his irises seemed to shrink and grow depending on his expression. He tested this by looking amazed, and watched as his irises responded by growing larger. Moving back to his body; Gaz tested his wings and tail, the motion was unfamiliar and struggled getting his wings to create a flapping motion like he had seen birds do back his world.

Gaz looked up and sighed at his failure, but what he saw startled him even more. Up in the rafters of the room where HUNDREDS of birds nests and houses, a few had their residents peering out at them looking at the strange Colt looking up at them. Gaz laughed a little as a small, but brave, Green Bird fluttered down and sat upon the night stand where Gaz's possessions where sat.

"Cheep?" It squawked at him.

"Hardly, I saved up for that Iphone for ages!" Gaz joked as he walked slowly over to the bird.

The bird got ready to fly away if the strange Colt attacked him, but upon seeing that he not ill intentions, it relaxed.

Gaz chuckled as he gripped his satchel with teeth and brushed his things in with a hoof before throwing it over his shoulder where it rested on his side. He decided that the best course of action was to go down-stairs and see if Fluttershy was around.

That's when a thought struck him.

_In the episode where Fluttershy said she'd look after the Cutie Mark Crusaders she slept on the couch... Why?_

That's when it dawned on him.

_Because Fluttershy doesn't HAVE a spare-room! THIS is her room!_

Gaz lowered his head in embarrassment as he exited the room and trotted down the stairs and saw what confirmed his previous thoughts.

It was Fluttershy curled up on the couch, with on hoof dangling over the edge of it, her mane covered most of her face and almost trailed on the floor.

The image pulled at Gaz's heartstrings, he knew how Fluttershy was known for being insanely cute to some Bronies back in his world, he contemplated taking a photo for the 'lulz' as he put it. Gaz decided against it and, unable to bring himself to wake her up from her slumber, decided to try and make his breakfast.

Fluttershy was having a lovely dream; she was at the Grand Galloping Gala for the second time, but this time, the animals where flocking to her in droves!

_This is wonderful, I hope this doesn't end any time soon..._

She knelt down to see to a small Bird who fluttered towards her, when it opened beak to squawk however, the only noise was a terrifying crash. All the animals scattered; the dream disappeared and Fluttershy found herself on the couch in her living room.

The sound of curses coming from the kitchen scared her as she slowly got up and cautiously approached the door to the kitchen and peered inside. All she saw was dozens of smashed plates and one flustered looking Colt. Fluttershy sighed softly and with a small smile on her face entered the kitchen.

"Not making too much of a mess I hope?..." She said softly, although there was an air of amusement in her voice.

The Colt jumped when he herd Fluttershy speak, he turned to see her duck behind her mane slightly.

"Oh, er, hey Fluttershy..." Gaz grinned sheepishly looking at the mess he'd made. "Yeah, really sorry about this, I'll clean it up..."

He began to brush most of the broken china into the centre of the room.

"...Let me help you Gaz!" Fluttershy trotted to the centre of the room and helped Gaz clean up most of the mess.

It took at least 10 minutes for the combined effort of both of them to clean up the mess, Fluttershy then proposed that they should go visit Twilight, then go about introducing Gaz to their friends.

Gaz agreed, partly because he also wanted a cigarette...

As they stepped out of Fluttershy's cottage, Gaz reached into his satchel with his teeth, first pulling out his brass Zippo, then, while holding that on one hoof. (He didn't even know how it stayed there it just did.) He managed to open the box with his tongue and pulled a cigarette out and clenched it between his teeth. He opened the Zippo by brushing it against his opposite leg and lit it by brushing the striking wheel against his leg as he brought it up to his mouth. Lighting the cigarette in one swift motion, before depositing the Zippo in his satchel.

People had scolded him in the past for smoking, and he knew it was counter-productive considering that he was lead singer in a band.

_None of that really matters now..._ Gaz thought as the nicotine rushed to his head.

Fluttershy had taken notice of Gaz's display.

"Um... Excuse me? Gaz.. What is that?" She cringed as a whiff of smoke reached her nostrils.

"Er this?" Gaz spoke while blowing smoke out of his nose, "Er... It's medication! Yes it's a special medicine that I need to take at least twice a day!"

Gaz hoped for the best that his excuse was plausible, first impressions were everything in his book.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy stopped in her tracks and gazed worryingly at Gaz. "Are you ill? How can I help? Oh.. I'm so sorry I brought this up... It's probably a sensitive matter for you..."

Gaz couldn't help but chuckle a little as she hid behind her mane once more.

"Fluttershy it's fine!" Gaz turned to face her with a grin on his face, "Let's just forget about it and go to Twilight's huh?"

Fluttershy seemed to perk up knowing she hadn't offended Gaz, but blushed and hid herself behind her mane again.

"I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry!" Gaz smiled at her, "C'mon, lets go to Twilight's house..."

Gaz had to admit, the actual size of Ponyville was not portrayed in the TV show. It seemed like they had walked for an hour at the most before they had reached Twilight's house; the Library. On the way Gaz had passed some places he recognised, such as Sugercube corner, and 'Sofas and Quills'.

He took one last drag on his cigarette before spitting it out of his mouth and crushing it under his hoof, he joined Fluttershy as she stood next to the door. She rapped gently with her hoof twice on the door before stepping back slightly as the door opened inward to reveal a small purple Dragon looking up at them.

_Spike.._ Gaz thought, _Looks bigger on the show..._

"Hey Fluttershy!" Spike grinned at her, "Twilight mentioned you be stopping by in the morning, I'll go get her."

He motioned for them to enter before climbing the stairs upward and disappearing behind a door.

"He seems awfully happy..." Gaz said to almost no-one in particular.

"Oh, that's Spike, Twilight's '1# Assistant'!" Fluttershy informed him.

The trotting of hooves made both of them look up to see Twilight Sparkle descend the stairs and made her way towards them.

"Spike I'm going to need you to stay here while I introduce Gaz to everyone, okay?" She said as she lead him and Fluttershy out into the crisp morning air.

"B-But I!..." Spike was cut off by the door closing behind them.

He muttered something about being 'worked to the bone' before stomping off the other room.

"So, I trust you slept well on your first night Gaz?" Twilight asked with a smile.

"Uh, yes thank you," He replied, "So... You said something about introducing me to people?"

"Yes! I guess first off we could introduce you to my friends first and then the important residents of Ponyville, but not before we introduce you to the Mayor!"

Gaz rather taken aback at how Twilight had prepared everything in advance, and almost burst out laughing when she produced a list of who to see first. Of course, he knew he shouldn't be too surprised, this WAS Twilight Sparkle; Princess Celestia's 'prized pupil'.

Their first stop was Sugercube corner to see Pinkie, then Rarity's boutique to see... Well Rarity, and finally Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. Twilight explained that they'd have to hope to meet Rainbow Dash along the way, as she was most likely sleeping on one of the clouds. On the way, Gaz noticed that some of the Ponies where giving him a strange look as he passed them in the street, he deduced that it must be due to his lack of Cutie mark on his flank.

Twilight entered the store first, followed by Fluttershy and Gaz bringing up the the rear. The bell above the door jingled as Twilight entered which attracted the attention of Mrs. Cake.

"Oh hello there Twilight, Fluttershy!" She looked at Gaz, "I'm sorry I don't think we've met? I'm Mrs. Cake, me and my husband Mr. Cake run the bakery here."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Gaz replied with a curt nod, if there was thing his parents had taught him it was good manners.

Mrs. Cake smiled at him before turning back to Twilight and Fluttershy.

"Now what brings you girls here? Are you looking for Pinkie?" She asked.

"Yes, actually... Where is she?" Fluttershy responded.

Almost on cue, the Pony in question bounced down the stairs, startling Fluttershy a little and causing Mrs. Cake and Twilight to laugh.

"Ah ha! My Pinkie sense was right again!" She proclaimed happily, "When my left ear began to feel warm, I just KNEW someone was talking about me!"

Then she noticed Gaz behind her friends, with an almost startled look on his face.

"Wow! Who are you I've never seen you in town before! My name's Pinkie Pie! Are you new here? Where did you come from? What's your name? Hey! How come you don't have a Cutie mark?

Oh it doesn't matter 'cause we're gonna throw you a super duper 'Welcome to Ponyville party'! It'll be great!"

Pinkie took in a deep breath after her outburst, where she had proceeded to bounce around Gaz excitedly. Gaz took a moment to consider what to reply with, a grin broke out on his face when he knew what to do.

He took in a deep breath.

"Nice to meet you Pinkie! My name's Gareth but you can call me Gaz! No I'm not from around here in fact I can't remember where I came from I don't know why I don't have a cutie mark either I cant remember anything before last night where I just woke up on Fluttershy's doorstep!

However she let me stay the night and Twilight suggested I introduce myself to her friends, starting with you! Then we're off to Rarity's and then Sweet Apple Acres to meet Applejack we're going to see if we can find Rainbow Dash on the way though! A party would be pretty swell I'm looking forward to it!"

Everyone stood there in mild surprise at Gaz's outburst, rivalling Pinkie's in terms of sheer speed. Pinkie had her trademark grin on her face during the entire speech, and it was her who broke the silence.

"I think I like you already Gaz!" She said nudging him, "I can tell we're going to be great friends!"

Twilight cleared her throat before speaking.

"Right... Anyway, Pinkie we're off to see Rarity, want to come?" She glanced at Mrs. Cake, who was still in shock. "Of course if you have to work that's fine I understand."

Mrs. Cake seemed to snap out of her trance at the mention of her business.

"Oh it's fine Twilight, today seems to be a pretty slow day today." She sighed. "You just go have Pinkie!"

"Oh goody!" Pinkie bounced out of the store, followed by Twilight and Fluttershy, Gaz said goodbye to Mrs. Cake and left.

Mrs. Cake sighed, wishing that she could just leave the store on a moments notice.

**Well, here's Chapter 3 for you guys.**

**Remember to R&R, and that Constructive Criticism is welcomed!**

**(Re-uploaded cause Pinkie Pie's and Gaz's outbursts seem to loose word when uploaded to )  
><strong>

**~TRW**


	4. The Fashionista

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

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><p>The Ponies of Ponyville were mostly up and about when The Gang left Sugercube corner, they turned left from the entrance and trekked in the direction of Rarity's Boutique. Pinkie Pie led the way, bouncing along as she usually did when she was excited, second was Twilight talking happily to Fluttershy about yesterdays events. She answered the questions with slight hesitance, Gaz brought up the rear... Yet again.<p>

Fluttershy dropped back to walk alongside him after Twilight seemed to be satisfied with her questions, she hesitated for a moment before leaning in to speak to him.

"Um... Gaz?" Fluttershy started, attracting his attention, "There was a small black object with you... It's what startled me last night... W-what is it?"

"Oh... Hang on let me think... Ah yes, it's device used to communicate long distances," Gaz replied, reminding himself of his "Amnesia" act. "But from what I remember it has other features built into it... Here I'll show you."

Gaz reached into his satchel and gingerly pulled out his Iphone with his teeth and placed it in his upturned hoof. He smirked when the screen showed that it was paused halfway through Jimi Hendrix's 'All along the Watchtower' recalling last nights events. He put the settings on 'shuffle' and pressed the button to next song with his nose.

A few seconds past before the sound of small guitar solo before erupting into a full-fledged song. The song had reached the chorus before Pinkie Pie and Twilight had noticed what was happening.

_No more heroes any more... No more heroes any more... No more heroes any more..._

"What..." Twilight stopped and gave Gaz a funny look, "In all of Equestria, is THAT?"

Gaz pressed the 'pause' button with his nose before responding.

"From what I remember correctly this is a device for communicating long distance, but it also has other features for entertainment purposes... But that's all I can remember..."

"Hmm," Twilight place a hoof on her chin, "I wonder if I have any books on that sort of thing..."

Gaz gripped the Iphone in his teeth once more before continuing the journey to Rarity's.

"That music..." Fluttershy looked at him, "What was that? It was so strange..."

"It's called Rock & Roll." Gaz stopped, "Hang on, I thought you were really shy around strangers? You've known me for what? Less than 24 hours?"

"I don't know..." Fluttershy looked at him and smiled, "I guess I feel I can open more, you seem nicer than most Ponies I've met for the first time. But wait, how did you know I was shy around strangers? None of us have told you that..."

"Well with a name like Fluttershy..." Gaz had a smug grin on his face when he watched he look down in embarrassment.

* * *

><p>Their journey continued in near silence, apart from the occasional outburst from Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Twilight had begun talking again, leaving Gaz with only his thoughts for company.<p>

_So, I'm stuck here... In a cartoon world... Is this even real? Am I dreaming?... What if that fall was worse than it looked? This world feels real enough... Heck it feels like I've been here forever, I would've at least thought walking would be hard... But walking on all fours seems almost... Natural?... I just wish I could get back home, as.. 'beautiful' and seemingly 'perfect' this world is I miss my Dystopia... I miss my family, I miss my friends... SHIT, Harry! What happened to him? Where did he end up? Oh Christ... I hope he's..._

"Ok?..." Gaz was brought back into... reality by Pinkie Pie, who was almost in his face with an insanely huge grin on her face.

"Uh... Yeah! Yes! I'm fine... Right sorry, ready to go to Rarity's house now!"

"Gaz you silly filly! We're already here!" Pinkie Pie backed off and revealed the Carousel Boutique in all it's... Purpleness.

Truth be told though, it was truly a sight to behold when you're actually stood in front of it, seemingly blending the classic Big-Top circus with a certain flair of style and fashion in big extravagant display.

Truly it was a sight to behold.

Twilight and Fluttershy where already at the door when Gaz and Pinkie Pie caught up, and Twilight had already pulled on a chord which sent a series of chimes off acting as the doorbell.

A few seconds past before the door opened revealing a very pampered looking Pony.

_Rarity..._

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><p>"Ah.. Girls! How lovely it is to see you!" She began with an air of refinement.<p>

Her eyes glided gently over her friends, then she noticed Gaz.

"Oh, and a dashing Stallion I see..." She trotted up next to him, "What is your name? You simply must tell me!"

"Uh- Gareth, but -heh- just call me Gaz, Ms.?.." He stuttered, slightly taken aback at the compliment.

"Ms. Rarity" She almost swooned, "Oh my, he knows his manners too! Colt's like you are SO hard to come by... You simply must model some of my work! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find Male models!"

_I wonder why... _

Gaz looked across the rest of the Ponies in a silent plea for help; Pinkie Pie was bouncing around talking to herself about the "Super-duper awesome Party!" she was going to throw, and Twilight was sniggering to herself at Rarity's display. Gaz looked at Fluttershy, and was shocked when she seemed almost... Jealous?

"Actually Rarity, we were just showing Gaz around Ponyville so I'm afraid he doesn't have time to model for you..." Rarity looked over at Fluttershy and all assertiveness was lost, "Oh, well it's up to him really not me... Sorry..."

Gaz took over so Fluttershy could stop digging her hole any deeper.

"Sorry Rarity, I've got a busy schedule at the moment, perhaps some other time?" Gaz smiled at Fluttershy, who hid behind her mane sheepishly, "However we are going to Sweet Apple Acres next to see Applejack, want to come?"

For a split second a look of disgust flashed over Rarity's face when she imagined all of the dirt that would be in and around a farm. However it left as quickly as it came when she remembered it was were one of her friends lived.

"Oh course dear! I've just finished doing my hair so we can leave right away!" Rarity started to trot off and motioned for Gaz to follow.

Gaz sighed deeply before looking over at Fluttershy who mouthed a silent, "Thanks." Gaz nodded and responded with a "Any time" of his own before ushered on by Rarity.

* * *

><p>"...And then I said, 'Well that cannot be the case because I just talked to her 10 minutes ago!' Oh what fun that was!" Rarity laughed.<p>

"Uh-huh." Replied an unenthusiastic Gaz

"But honestly Gareth would you model for me? Ponyville is having a show on and..."

"Wait," Gaz stopped her, "You said show? Like a talent-show or something?"

"Why yes," Rarity brushed her mane away from her face, "Almost any pony can enter, and it doesn't matter what their talent is, and Princesses Celestia and Luna are coming down to watch..."

"Doesn't matter the talent eh?" Rarity nodded, "I'm entering."

"YOU, but... you've only been here less than a day! What even is your talent?" Rarity looked at Gaz's flank, "No Cutie mark? My, I've never seen an adult Pony with no Cutie mark..."

"I'm going to sing," Gaz cut her off, she looked at him dumbfounded, "Trust me when I say I can sing, I'm good at it."

"Well, if you say you can..." Rarity looked away for a moment, "Sing then."

"Eh?"

"If you're as good as you say you are that is," Rarity looked at him with a smirk.

Gaz stopped in his tracks and took a few deep breaths, and in the middle of Ponyville, began to sing.

He always liked a challenge.

_"Lipstick junkie, debunked the only one. She came back wearing a smile. Look-alike, someone drugged me, they wanted to unplug me. No one here is on trial, it's just a turnaround. And we go, oh... well then we go uh huh oh... _

_Tick tock I want to rock you, like the eighties... Cock blocking isn't allowed. Tugboat Sheila is into memorabilia, who said three is a crowd? We better get it on the go_

_Hey now... We've got to make it rain somehow She told me to and showed me what to do. How Maggie makes it in her cloud... _

_I said, hey now.. We've got to make it rain somehow, she told me to and showed me what to do... She knows how to make it loud..."_

Gaz had closed his eyes halfway through his performance, and kept in time to the song in his head by tapping his hoof on the ground rhythmically. When he finished, he opened his eyes to see a small crowd had gathered to hear him sing. They began to cheer and disperse when it became apparent that he'd stopped. He past Rarity who was stood next to rest of the group.

"Told you I was good..." He grinned as he made his way through the crowd, nodding and smiling at the Ponies who where applauding.

Rarity and the gang ran to catch up with the Singer, who was still pretty smug from his massive ego boost.

"What, where... Where did that come from?" Twilight asked first.

"Yeah that was awesome!" Pinkie Pie interjected, "D'ya know any more?"

"A few, the reason I sang was to prove to Rarity that I'm serious about entering that show... When was it Rarity?"

"3 days..." Replied a still dumbfounded Rarity.

Twilight took the lead to Sweet Apple Acres, Gaz was lost in a trail of thought when Fluttershy fluttered over next to him with her wings.

"Gaz, that was amazing..." She started, "I never knew you could sing like that!..."

"Well, part of it's talent, rest is a lot of practice..." Gaz looked at her as she flew alongside him, "Listen this probably going to sound embarrassing but, how do you do that?"

The Pegasus looked confused for a moment, "You mean fly?" Gaz nodded sheepishly, "Oh my! You can't fly? Oh dear..."

She suddenly started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Gaz asked, annoyance evident in his voice.

"It's just... that you've got no Cutie mark, and you're a Pegasus can't fly! What are we going to do with you?" She tried to stifle her laughter, "This is payback for earlier, you know, "A name like Fluttershy." Remember?..."

Gaz let out a a grunt of acknowledgement, and ignore the Pegasus when she adopted a smug look on her face.

_Wish we'd hurry up and get to Sweet Apple Acres already..._

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><p><strong>Well now, this chapter was fun to write!<strong>

**I'd like to take this time just to say thank you for the reviews, they really mean a lot to me! You are the coal that keeps my imagination train going! Whooo whooo!**

***ahem***

**Anyway here's the two songs that were used in this chapter.**

"**No More Heroes" - The Stranglers (The song the Iphone played.)**

"**The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (The song Gaz sang... Rather well.)**

**THIS IS IMPORTANT: I'm going to a festival from Thursday 26th - Monday 29th so I'm afraid this is the last chapter I'll be uploading this week, I'll write some of Chapter 5 before I leave so it'll be out soon next week. Sorry in advance :(**

**Remember to R&R and that Constructive Criticism is welcomed, and I'll see you in 5 days!**

**~TRW**


	5. Good 'Eatin

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

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><p>While Gaz was busy pouting from Fluttershy's comment, (he was muttering something about it "being a cheap shot.) Twilight Sparkle was currently zoned out as Pinkie Pie was babbling on about how her pet Alligator, Gummy, had beaten her at cards last night. She nodded her head whenever there was a lull in the noise coming from Pinkie, as if to show she was actually listening to her.<p>

Rarity had tried to pry her for more information about Gaz, and then began on a long winded explanation on what type clothes she would make him model. Twilight gave her the same amount attention she had given Pinkie, little to none. However the gears in her head where churning and she was lost in deep thought.

_Okay, let's get this straight... 'Gaz' seemingly bursts into existence outside Fluttershy's cottage, has no recollection of where he comes come from, and has with him all of these strange devices... Something doesn't add up here..._

She looked over her shoulder to see Gaz giving Fluttershy a stern look, which she responded with by giving a small cry and began to apologise franticly. Only to have Gaz drop the charade by laughing and tell her he was only joking. Twilight also noticed that when Gaz hugged her to apologise, that Fluttershy blushed a little.

_Well... Fluttershy seems to be enjoying his company, she seems a lot happier since he's been here.. Maybe I'm just over thinking things, there's probably a logical explanation for his arrival_

She was jolted from her thoughts by a rainbow streak ploughing straight into the ground at her hooves. The sound of the impact had alerted the others and they all crowded around the impact crater, as Gaz drew close he noticed a rainbow-coloured tail poking out from the hole.

_Rainbow Dash..._

Said Pony backed herself out of the hole she had made and shook her head wildly to clear her vision. Stars in her eyes, Rainbow Dash stepped forward and blinked rapidly to clear her vision.

"Heh, sorry about that... Practising a new trick." Her vision cleared, and that's when she noticed Gaz. "Who the hay is this guy?"

"Pleased to meet you too." Gaz scoffed a little, knowing full well of Rainbow Dash's personality.

"The name's Gareth, but everyone just calls me Gaz." He recited the introduction he'd spoken many times before while holding out a hoof.

"Yeah whatever.." Rainbow Dash slapped his hoof away earning a look off Gaz, she turned to her friends. "So where are you all heading off to?"

"Well we are heading off to Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack, you want to come?" Twilight indicated with her hoof.

"Nah, I'm good, I've got to move the clouds for Lunchtime," She turned back to Gaz, "I'll catch you later smart-mouth." She noticed his wings, "Let's hope you're as good a flyer as you are a quick talker."

She turned and blasted off into the sky at a speed that Gaz would've thought impossible back on his world. Of course this wasn't his world however.

"What a lovely pony..." Gaz started ahead of everyone else, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "If first impressions are everything..."

He trailed off when the rest caught up with him.

"Oh don't mind her Gazzy!" Pinkie trotted beside him, "She's just a bit moody sometimes, especially around people she doesn't know!"

"Indeed... She can be so rash at times," Rarity commented, "But, that's our Rainbow!"

Gaz nodded at Rarity's explanation however Pinkie's use of his name was met with a raised eyebrow from Gaz, Twilight motioned for them to follow, and they where moving again.

* * *

><p>Surprisingly for Gaz, who was used to living in a big city, the town of Ponyville did not seem to just 'stop' at the outskirts as had other places he had been to. In fact, even when they got to Sweet Apple Acres, Gaz was surprised to find the occasional house or two on the main road.<p>

Walking up the dirt track to the Apple residence, (which was a very large range house situated almost behind the barn) Gaz had time to fully comprehend how big the harvest of Apples was. In the show, he knew it was only represented as vast fields, but that had not prepared him for how large these fields actually where in comparison to their on-screen counterparts.

The ranch house was fairly large, especially so because only there where four residents, (that Gaz knew of), Applejack, Applebloom, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. None of the shutters on the windows where closed however, almost hinting that almost all rooms where in use. He laughed when he noticed Rarity giving a small patch of mud a wide birth, remembering her obsessive cleanliness.

The door-bell had been rang by the time Gaz had stepped on the porch, Twilight turned her head to look at him.

"Applejack got a good harvest yesterday, if she isn't here she's probably out on the farm."

There was a rustling of locks, before the door was opened to reveal a very perky looking orange pony with a trio of three apples on her flank, her blonde hair tied near the end while her fringe was loosely swept to the side.

_Applejack... Minus hat it seems._

"Girls!" Applejack grinned, "Great to see y'all! I managed to finish cleanin' up the farm yesterday so I'm free this afternoon... Er, who's this fellah?"

She pointed a hoof a Gaz, who took it as a... Handshake?

"Pleased to meet you," Gaz smiled at her, "The name's Gareth but everyone calls me-"

He was stopped from reciting his introduction by the vigorous hoofshake that was a notorious Apple family trait.

"Howdy, Gareth! Mah name's Applejack, a friend of a friend is a friend of mine!" She released her grip, "S'okay I call you Gaz?"

"Huh.. Y-yeah sure..." Replied Gaz shakily.

"Hm, coulda sworn your face weren't green before... Ah well, listen you all wanna come in for some genuine Apple family Apple Pie?"

She was met with a series of agreements.

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

"Sounds wonderful, dear."

"Mmmm, I love Apple Pie! It's scrummy!"

"Yes please Applejack, that sounds lovely..."

"Sure, could go for some grub right now."

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><p>A few minutes later they were sat around the dining table, with Granny Smith at head of the table, on her left was Big Mac, and on her left was Applebloom. Applejack's chair was empty next to her, however Twilight was sat next to the empty chair. Next to Big Mac was Pinkie, who was sat next to Fluttershy. Gaz was ushered into the chair at the opposite end of the table to Granny Smith. Gaz took a few moments to observe the room he was in, the walls were painted a satin white which had the support beams run up and down them and along the ceiling. The floor was Oak, which was a dark rich colour, matching the furniture they where sat in.<p>

Applejack trotted through from the kitchen with a tray positioned neatly on her back, it held various bowls of apple pie, cutlery, and various condiments to the pie; such as custard and ice cream. She place Gaz's out first, holding the bowl with her teeth. The concept of someone else's mouth coming so close to his food disturbed Gaz until he realised that he and all of the other Ponies possessed no hands or fingers. Let alone opposable thumbs. However he couldn't fathom how he'd managed to hold his Iphone earlier without hands.

He decided the rationalize it with a quote from Mr. Bean.

"_**Magic! *snort* *snort*"**_

This image in his mind's eye made him grin a little before he brought his senses back to reality. Then he realised how was he supposed to eat? Was he just to put his face in the bowl, or?.. He looked up to observe what the others where doing, specifically the Earth-Ponies, as Twilight and Rarity just used their magic.

To his surprise, they just seemed to be holding the spoons as normal. Everyone, from Applebloom to Granny Smith, was 'holding' their spoons. He put his hoof out, 'grabbed' his spoon, and moved it over to his bowl.

And it stayed there, in his hoof.

Satisfied at his accomplishment, he repeated a motion which he had done many times before. Dipping the spoon into the bowl, scooping some pie up and placing it into his mouth.

Then, the Apples hit his taste buds.

The taste was amazing, it was like this pie was made from the _perfect _apples that had ever been grown. He didn't know what astounded him more, the fact that these apples where to die for, or that his mouth could produce that much saliva.

"Um... Gaz, you seem to be... Drooling.." Fluttershy tapped him, bringing Gaz back to his senses to realise that the entire table was looking at him.

"S-sorry!" Gaz grinned sheepishly, "It's just that I've never tasted Apples this fucking good!"

What should have been a compliment towards the Apple family's pride and joy was swiftly turned on it's head because of Gaz's use of language. Most on the Ponies where a shocked, a few notable exceptions where Big Mac and Applebloom, Big Mac's face displaying his usual blank expression, and Applebloom's was one of bemusement.

"What'n the world does 'fucki-'" She was promptly stopped by a hoof from Applejack.

"Applebloom!" She cried, "Never ever use that word! It's a bad 'un."

"Ey-up" Agreed Big Mac.

Gaz now felt the eyes of those present a little more sternly this time.

"Cra- I mean! I am really sorry!" Gaz pleaded, "Slip of the tongue, y'know, the Amnesia and stuff... Haha..."

He was met with a raised brow from Applejack, she turned to Twilight for answers. Her hoof being pushed away with a "Humpf" from Applebloom.

"Fluttershy found him outside her cottage yesterday," Twilight glanced over at her, "He has no memory of where he came from or how he got here, likely cause is Amnesia, he got a fright from Fluttershy when she opened the door to see who it was!"

"Wait... Fluttershy gave somepony a fright?" Applejack looked over at Gaz, then back to Fluttershy, "OUR Fluttershy? Oh my days! That is just rich!"

Applejack's chorus of laughter was soon accompanied by the other Ponies at the table. Gaz lowered his head in embarrassment and let his arms flop to his sides; he'd completely forgotten about his first few minutes in the land of Equestria. He was about to raise his head and come back with one of his infamous witty retorts, when he felt something brush his hoof.

He looked up slightly to see Fluttershy 'holding' his left hoof in her right.

"It's okay... They don't mean it out of spite, after all I get frightened all the time..." She told him in a lowered voice.

"Well as I said before... With a name like Fluttershy..."

They both smiled at each other in amusement.

"Sorry about that Gaz!" Applejack snorted a little in her laugh, "Didn't mean to hurt ya feelings, c'mon let's all go into town and see if we can find Rainbow Dash."

"We already saw her on the way here," Rarity interjected, "Though I suppose she's probably finished her 'cloud clearing' duties by now."

"Yeah... Big Mac d'ya mind clearing the table for me?" Applejack turned to her big brother, who had been chuckling silently at Gaz.

"Nope..." He paused, "You owe me one though..."

"Yeah yeah," Applejack rose from her seat. "C'mon lets go!"

All of the Ponies, minus Granny Smith, rose almost in union. When Gaz and Fluttershy went to stand however, they both realised that they'd been 'holding' each other's hoof the entire time. They quickly pulled away, looking away from one another. Gaz felt a warm rush in his cheeks, unbeknownst to Gaz, Fluttershy had blushed as well.

The Ponies filed out of the Ranch house, Applejack grabbing her hat on the way out. Big Mac had asked Applebloom help him clear the table and they went to the kitchen to grab the tray to carry the crockery back. Now that silence had descended on the dining room, you could now hear the silent snoring of Granny Smith who was still sat at the head of the table. That was until she suddenly jolted awake.

"Huh! What'd you say ther fella?"

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><p><strong>Well, that took longer than expected! Anyway, I have recovered from the festival; and I am going to impose a weekly schedule for this Fan Fic! So expect chapters round about Wednesdays to Sundays! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far, you're the best, no seriously, you're doing a fucking wonderful job! Keep it up! :)<strong>

**On a side note, anyone got RHCP's new album "I'm with you" yet? I'm contemplating getting it, I've heard some of the songs (Like "Monarchy of Roses.) Just want to know if it's decent or not.**

**Remember to R&R, and that Constructive Criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	6. Only Human

**Life on Mars**

**A story by The Renegade Waffle**

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><p>Gaz was last out the Ranch house, however he was lost in thought as they all back-tracked towards Ponyville. Although he didn't show it, he was still trying to work out what had happened back home that brought him to Equestria.<p>

_Swirling whirlpool on my desktop... Seriously, this shit only happens in those cheesy fan fictions!_

He seemingly stopped in his tracks for moment before continuing the walk.

_I can't keep up this amnesia act forever either. Sooner or later everyone... Everypony will find out the truth about me... Then what Mr. Mason? What will you do then?..._

He looked down to watch how his hooves moved when he walked, he was still surprised at how walking felt completely natural. Maybe all those years crawling around as a baby were worthwhile.

Gaz looked up, noticing that the dirt path had slowly but steadily been replaced by cobblestone. He looked up to the sky, noting that it was now a clear blue, it seemed that Rainbow had finished her 'cloud clearing' duties.

_Probably in 10 seconds flat..._ Gaz smirked at his joke, _While looking 20% cooler than the other pegasi._

In the town square, the Ponies of Ponyville where out in full force, going about their daily routines. When the Mares and Gaz stopped by fountain in the centre, they where practically crushed against it.

"Right then," Twilight spoke up first, "I suppose we better find Rainbow..."

"She's probably asleep on a cloud somewhere knowin' her." Applejack added.

"Oh! Well if you are all searching for Dashy I need to go get some 'preparations' sorted!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down at the prospect of what she was planning.

Of course everyone there, including Gaz, knew what she was planning. However he decided to play dumb and let her have her fun.

"That's fine Pinkie." Twilight winked at her, "We'll see you back at the Library okay?"

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie beamed, "See you all laaaater!"

No sooner had Pinkie zoomed off from the group, Gaz turned to the group.

"I take it that Pinkie's off to prepare for my "Welcome to Ponyvillie" party?"

"Wha?" Twilight spluttered. "How do you know that?"

"Well, because Pinkie's explosion of words that was her greeting," Gaz adopted a smug expression, "She clearly talked about throwing me a party to welcome me here."

Twilight gave Gaz an unamused look, which was met with more smugness on Gaz's part.

"Listen, why don't we go and see Mayor Mare," Twilight turned to the rest of the group. "We don't know how long it could be until we see Rainbow Dash."

"That's a good idea Twilight.." Fluttershy spoke up for the first time since they had left the Ranch house. "The town hall isn't too far..."

"I agree Sugarcube." Applejack looked at Rarity, who also nodded in agreement.

"Guess that settles it," Gaz sighed at being dragged around Ponyville, "Lead the way Twilight..."

The rest of the day was spent getting acquainted with the major Ponies of Ponyville, Mayor Mare was very welcoming in Gaz's opinion, however judging from the amount of paperwork she already had related to new residents in the town it was no wonder that she was never seen outside the office. By the time they left the office after getting Gaz's credentials sorted, (with Gaz's answers mostly being "I can't remember...") the sun was drawing low over the horizon, Twilight said that they should head back to the library for dinner, which everyone agreed to.

Before they set off however, a blue blur whizzed past them, startling Fluttershy causing her to hide behind the group. The blur zoomed in front of them again and stopped with an audible skid in front of them; revealing Rainbow Dash standing proudly before of them.

"You like it? It's a new move I'm working on!" She stated smugly.

"You scared Fluttershy half to death!" Gaz stepped forward and jerked his head over at Fluttershy quivering behind the group. "I think it'd be best if you apologised."

"Who do you think you are?" Rainbow Dash squared up to him, even though he was slightly taller than her. "Telling me how to behave with MY friends! You've only just got here, you can't just boss me around!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Both of the warring Ponies looked up to see Applejack baring down on both of them.

"Both of you!" Her southern drawl seemed more prominent in her anger, "Now, I don' want to go see mah two friends fightin'... Especially one who I've just met, and one I'd expected better of!"

"Now, Rainbow, apologise to Fluttershy fer startlin' her, and Gaz, you need ter apologise for confronting her in such a way..."

"Sorry..." Gaz let out a small laugh, "Didn't mean to rage on you!"

"Yeah whatever, Smart mouth..." Rainbow looked at Fluttershy who seemed surprised at Gaz for standing up for her, "I'm sorry Fluttershy, you know I didn't mean it right?"

"Y-Yes... Rainbow, it's quite alight..." Fluttershy nodded and smiled at her friend.

"Rainbow, you want to come with us to mine for dinner?" Twilight piped up, "It's what we were going to do before we bumped into you."

"Yeah, turns out sitting around doing nothing for a entire day can work up an appetite." Rainbow agreed.

"That settles it, come on lets go!" Twilight lead the way to her home.

The walk was long. Gaz was thankful, as it gave him time to think about the events that had just transpired. He liked to think over things in his head from time to time to sort them out.

_Well, one thing the show doesn't show is that Rainbow can be a massive prick... Or is it just me? Maybe I was too brash with my accusation... Hell, I've only been here less than a day and I'm acting like I've known these guys for years..._

It didn't take long to get to the Library, by the time the the massive tree-house came into full view, the sun had all but set over they reached the door, Gaz held back for Twilight to open the door with her magic. Twilight opened the door covering it in a purple glow, however, Gaz was pushed inside first in front of everyone else. He was about to protest at the shoving but was interrupted the lights switching on and...

"SUPRISE!"

Even though he knew previously about Pinkie's party, Gaz had completely forgotten about it, and jumped back in surprise. He was still recoiling from the shock when Pinkie Pie bounced through the cloud and placed a party hat upon his head.

"Yay, you made it!" Pinkie turned to face the crowd of Ponies in the party; it seemed that nopony wanted to miss out on her legendary parties. "Well? Waddya think?"

"A party? For me?" Gaz replied doing his best to sound surprised. "Really you shouldn't have..."

"Are you kidding? Everypony gets a 'Welcome to Ponyville party'!" Pinkie threw her hooves up in the air, "Let's party!"

In Gaz's experience, parties that lacked some form of alcohol where usually pretty... Crap. However he did find himself enjoying himself regardless of the lack of drink. The food that had been prepared was delicious, the punch was good. Even the party games, which he would have dismissed as childish previously, were actually fun to play. Particularly a game which was an Equestrian variant on the game 'Twister'

* * *

><p>The party wound down around 4 hours later, everyone filed out of Twilight's home and into the cool night air. The mane six and Gaz stopped outside of the Library as everyone dispersed.<p>

"Well..." Gaz started, "Your reputation as the 'Party-Pony" is certainly well deserved Pinkie!"

The Pony in question had a lampshade sat at a jaunty angle on her head, she beamed at Gaz as he reached into his satchel to withdraw a cigarette.

_Damn, I've only got 8 left... And using 2 a day equals around... SHIT, 4 days? I'm fucked..._

"Gaz..." Twilight's curiosity got the better of her, "What.. Is that? Fluttershy told me about your 'medication'."

"It's a Cigarette." He took a deep drag and blew the grey smoke out through his nostrils into the night air, "Let's... Let's just say that it keeps me stable... Okay? I don't really want to talk about it."

_Heh, 'Stable', Ponies..._

"Right well while you are taking your drug to keep yourself from going loopy," Rainbow Dash piped up, apparently sick of being sick of standing around. "I've gonna hit the hay, catch ya later!"

She took off, rocketing into the air leaving a rainbow trailing in her wake.

"Arse..." Gaz muttered under his breath.

"So, Gareth, where are staying currently?" Rarity asked breaking the tension, "I was told you stayed at Fluttershy's last night."

"Well yeah..." Gaz rolled the cigarette to the other side of his mouth, he turned to face the yellow pegasi "Is it okay if I stay another night at yours, Fluttershy?"

"Of course!" She responded enthusiastic, "Oh! I mean..."

Gaz couldn't help but smile at her little outburst.

"It's okay Fluttershy!" He adopted a slightly more serious face, "However this time I'm sleeping on the couch. Not in the 'Guest room'"

The group all said their goodbyes and dispersed to their respective homes. The cool night air was a refreshing change to the warmth of Twilight's home. Ponyville was devoid of all life as Gaz and Fluttershy made their way wordlessly through the centre of town, the sound of their hooves echoing off the walls of houses.

Gaz spat out the end of his cigarette ahead of him and walked over it, stomping it out. He glanced over at his silent companion, and quickly looked away when it turned out that she was looking at him.

"Gaz..." Fluttershy broke the silence, "What are those... 'cigarettes' actually for? Please, tell me the truth... I know they're not good for you..."

He sighed in response, Gaz knew the 'medication' ploy wouldn't work as soon as he'd first said it.

Gaz suddenly felt like he needed another cigarette...

"Okay, Fluttershy I trust you enough with this information." He stopped to gather his thoughts, "A cigarette is filled with a substance called "Tobacco", and other chemicals. In a nutshell it produces calming-yet toxic-gases that is very addictive."

Gaz inwardly face-palmed at being so blunt in his explanation, he realised he'd been staring off into space during his explanation and looked back to Fluttershy.

"Oh my! Toxic? Gaz why do you do this to yourself?" Fluttershy looked visibly shocked.

"Well, I... I, er..." Gaz remembered the state of his own Grandfather six months ago. A life time of smoking had caught up with him and had been the end of him. "I don't know why, Fluttershy. Smoking is deadly, I've watched someone from my family die from it... I don't want to end up... Like Granddad... I don't want to die at 57... I don't want to die..."

Gaz was good at repressing things, damned good. He could easily lie through a situation or repress an emotion for a hell of a long time. His major flaw however was that it built up over time. The white-lies he told often came back to bite him the ass, or the emotion could not be stifled no more...

He let the tears run forth, the memories of his Grandfather and the current situation he was in all caught up with him at once in one great flood of emotion. He collapsed in the street, he hadn't cried in a hell of a long time.

Fluttershy had rushed to his aid and began to comfort the sobbing Colt, almost on the verge of tears herself at the current scene. She was about to comfort him when a whooshing sound overhead drew her attention skyward. Her eyes followed the rainbow trail to the ground in front of her, and there stood a grinning Rainbow Dash.

"Pfft, looks like Smart Mouth here is a bit of a Foal, ey Fluttershy?" Rainbow laughed a little, stepping forward.

"Not so much of a big shot now are ya?" She grinned again, this was classic.

The last thing she expected was Fluttershy nose to nose with her, her eyes locked in 'the stare'.

"How _dare _you!" Fluttershy began sternly, "Gareth is mourning the loss of a family member, and you are _mocking him! How dare__you!_"

A general rule in Ponyville is that Fluttershy's voice ever goes over 1 decibel, you've fucked up big style. The ancient 'Fight or Flight' response kicked into over drive in Rainbow's brain as she shot off into the air, far far away from the wrath of Fluttershy.

The Pony in question stood there, her wings extended, almost locked in place. As she slowly returned to normal, she noticed the sobbing had stopped. Fluttershy turned to see Gaz sat on the floor looking at her with the best 'What the fuck was that?' face he could do.

"Remind me never to piss you off." Gaz spoke.

"Oh... I am so sorry!" Fluttershy hung her head in shame, "I shouldn't have been so hard on Rainbow, that's just who she is. But I couldn't just stand there and let her talk like that to you!"

Gaz sniffed in surprise, his eyes still red.

_She put me before one of her best friends?..._

"...Thank you Fluttershy, for comforting me and for warding off Rainbow..." Gaz pulled her into a hug, which she returned, "It's nice to know someone's looking out for me..."

Fluttershy felt his ragged breaths through his body, she closed her eyes. The warmth off his body a sharp contrast to the cold midnight air.

She didn't want to let go...

And neither did he...

* * *

><p>The darkness crept across the Everfree forest, seemingly blending with the unnatural shadows there, it was biding it's time. It couldn't attack now, let alone defend itself properly. It needed to-<p>

It sensed a disturbance, a huge otherworldly at that. It pinpointed the location as the clearing opposite. It stayed, purely out of curiosity at what was coming.

A flash of light blinded it for a moment before it's eyes adjusted to the blinding light coming from a portal.

A portal?

The Darkness stayed put, not wanting to risk detection, especially as a bipedal creature in a large white protective suit walked through cautiously. The creature raised it's hand to the side of it's head and began to look around at it's new surroundings, a faint mumbling could be heard from within it's suit. The Darkness focused it's magic to amplify the sound from the creature, it only caught the end of it's sentence before it stepped back through the portal.

"...yeah it bloody worked, I'm heading back in, close it behind me."

The portal closed, removing the bright light and casting the area back into darkness.

The Darkness pondered what the fuck just happened.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the delay chaps! Here it is.<strong>

**Okay, first things first. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. Honestly, even if you say "HA! You're a twat!" it still means the world to me! I 3 you guys... :3**

**Oh, and isn't Season 2 shweet? Discord, what a guy, ey?**

**[EDIT: Right, hates me and deletes words and sometimes entire sentences... If you see anything that looks like it's missing something let me know...]  
><strong>

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	7. CDG's and You

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

><p><span>Earth – Unknown location<span>

Jason Cooper stepped back through the controlled dimensional gateway, or the 'CDG', and squinted as the bright lights of the laboratory hurt his eyes. A fizzle followed by a small bang confirmed the closure of the CDG, Jason turned around to see the two great pylons that would hold the gateway open powering down.

"Jason! Jason! It worked!"

He turned to see a stubby man with short black hair jogging up to him, his lab coat trailing behind him. The man's name was Sean Adams; the lead scientist on the project. Jason's partner in crime.

Jason removed his helmet, a small hiss escaping as the pressure escaped from it. He scratched his beard and indicated to the suit.

"Yeah it did..." He removed the pressurised locks on the suit and began to remove it. "So come on spill the beans, what's the suit for?"

"Aha!" Sean waved a finger in the air, "Tell me what you know about Hollans Law"

"Hollans Law... Matter from dimension A cannot exist in dimension B; in order to survive, the dimension A matter needs to adjust it's physical properties to that of it's dimension B counterpart..."

"Very good Jason! Doing your research I see!" Sean continued with a twinkle in his eye, "Yes you are 100% correct, you would have simply ceased to exist if you had stepped through that gate. However, it's the suit that protects you, that's why you needed it!"

"What? A hazmat suit?"

"Indeed! You see, it seems that the dimension we have been studying is covered in a strange form of Radiation, the likes of which we've never seen before."

Sean took the suit from Jason, and they began to walk down the ramp away from the CDG, down through the flowing corridors of the facility, passing other scientists on the way.

"Forget everything you know about radioactive particles; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, everything. This new form of radiation, Omega, seems to just 'exist' within us all, and it's seemingly harmless. However it is when we cross dimensional planes, it seems to react with the Omega particles within the human being it occupies and causes him or her to spontaneously combust."

"Honestly that sounds rather far fetched..."

"Well it's the most logical conclusion we can draw, we cannot simply claim it's magic and call it a day. Anyway, the Hazmat suit stops the foreign Omega particles invading your body, combing with your Omega particles and preventing your demise."

"Okay, I think I get it." Jason and Sean turned a corner, passing near the infantry barracks, Jason guessed that Sean was taking him to their boss.

"I take it Horowitz will want his boys kitted out on hazmat suits for when they go in then?"

"Yes..." Sean sighed, "He wants us integrate the shielding technology that our colleagues in the Tech-labs have been toying with. However he doesn't seem to understand that they haven't been able to cover an area larger than a penny, let alone a fully grown human."

A group of large men dressed in fatigues brushed passed Sean at that moment; laughing loudly.

"I use the term 'human' very lightly, they are more like animals..." Sean readjusted his glasses with his free hand, "Anyway, it looks like General Horowitz is going to have to settle with armoured plating strapped on over the top of the suits."

"Yeah, anyway it's not like he can argue with The Chairman is it?"

They stopped outside a door at the end of a corridor, it was the only door in the corridor. Sean knocked on it three times and waited, there was a pause before the door opened for them. They stepped through a doorway into a dimly lit room, it was lavishly furnished, a plush carpet leather sofas and a fish tank spanning an entire wall. At the far end of the room was a large oak desk, the large leather chair was rotated away from the table to face the large TV, it was currently showing the news.

"I trust you have good news for me Adams?" The Chairman did not turn around.

"It worked sir."

The TV turned off and the chair swirled around to face them, unfortunately the light of the room did not reveal the face of the figure, only a large signet ring with the initials 'R.W.' on it.

"Excellent, ahead of schedule as well," The Chairman let out a soft laugh, "Tell your scientists that we're pushing 'First contact' up to tomorrow. Cooper?"

"Yes sir." Jason stepped forward.

"I have decided that since you where the first to cross over and survive, you shall be placed in charge of the first recon fireteam that will deployed ahead of the Army, congratulations _Sergeant _Cooper.

"Thank you sir," Jason paused, "When do we go in?"

The Chairman swivelled around in his chair.

"Tomorrow, Sergeant. Your new call sign is Charlie-Three-One, you'll meet your men in the morning... Dismissed."

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Fluttershy's cottage<span>

_Gaz galloped through the forest as fast as his legs would carry him, the sounds of fighting and screaming behind him._

_He looked back to see the Figure and his Minions and the Darkness clashing with one another, the Darkness seemed to be winning, yet the Figure's Minions kept coming. Gaz faced forwards one again only to crash into one of the Figure's Minions. Gaz rebounded off the Minion and landed on his back, he was defenceless against it as it moved in closer._

_The Minion paused, as if confused, it crouched close to Gaz and loomed over him and placed it's hands over Gaz's neck. He let out a gargled scream when he saw the monster's face before he passed out._

_It was his face, his Human face._

Gaz jolted awake, slipping off the couch and landing heavily on the floor. He groaned as he picked himself up off the floor, he hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time.

A clatter of hooves brought his attention to the doorway to the kitchen where Fluttershy had ran through at the sound of him landing on the ground.

"Oh my, Gaz!" She trotted over to him, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah... Yeah," Gaz muttered, "Bad dream I guess."

"Bad dream? Gaz you look horrible!"

"Ouch Fluttershy, insulting my appearance?" He put on a sly grin.

"I-I mean not in an ugly way! You juts look rather bedraggled..." She gradually became quieter as she spoke.

"I was only kidding Fluttershy!" Gaz didn't laugh this time, "I guess my sense of humour isn't for you eh?"

She smiled at him as he made his way over to a mirror that hung upon the wall, he peered into it and was surprised at how he looked. Staring back at him was the same face as yesterday, however dark circles were underneath his eyes. The stubble over his jaw-line had started to go dark, mimicking a 5 o'clock shadow. His hair was completely messed up, stuck up completely at one side, his complexion had faded making him look pale.

"Wow, I look like death..." Gaz muttered as he turned away, "D'ya mind if I go freshen up?"

"Not at all, the bathroom is upstairs and on the left." She indicated with her hoof.

Gaz returned downstairs feeling considerably fresher than before; his mind cleared of whatever demons that remained from his... Disturbing dream. He glanced in the mirror, he still looked pale, however he was clean. That was the only thing that mattered.

Gaz trotted through the kitchen to see that Fluttershy had prepared some breakfast for him, she had placed the two plates of toast on the table. She didn't notice Gaz as he walked in, and continued to hum a familiar tune while putting something in the cupboard.

_Really? She's humming the shows theme song?_

Gaz raised his hoof to his mouth and coughed, getting Fluttershy's attention.

"I hope your feeling better Gaz," She smiled at him, "I thought I should try and make breakfast this time after yesterday..."

Gaz chuckled when he remembered his incident in the kitchen.

"Thanks I really appreciate it."

They ate in silence, when they finished they got up from their seats and carried their plates over to the sink and placed them in. Gaz broke the silence first as they left the kitchen.

"Listen, Fluttershy. About last night, I didn't mean to put such a downer on the evening..."

"Oh, well... It's quite all right Gaz..."

"You not think you were a little hard on Rainbow?" Gaz asked, "I mean, we don't exactly get on, but still. We should probably go and appologise to her?"

Fluttershy hid behind her mane sheepishly in recollection of the event, she looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

They made their way outside, into the crisp morning air, Fluttershy unfolded her wings and lifted off into the sky.

"If we hurry, we may be able to catch her before she begins he cloud clearing duties... Gaz?"

She looked down to see him trying to flap his wings to gain altitude, she floated down to him, finding it amusing that a fully grown Colt was jumping around trying to take off.

"Here, Gaz." She touched ground and demonstrated a flapping motion with her wings, "You need to loosen your wings and let them _flow _through the air..."

Gaz relaxed his unfamiliar appendages, and repeated the action that Fluttershy had demonstrated. He braced himself for failure, and instead found himself floating just above the ground.

"Haha!" Gaz's face was a mix of fear and excitement, "I'm flying! FLYING! This is fantastic!"

Fluttershy smiled at her students progress, usually pegasi learn to fly when they're rather young, however due to not being fully grown they are incredibly off balance. She was hoping that due to the fact that Gaz was fully grown, he would fare a little better.

It took a good hour before Gaz was confident enough to fly, staggeringly slow even for Fluttershy, up to Rainbow's cloud home. As they touched down on the front doorstep Gaz had to admit; the rainbow waterfalls where a nice touch. Fluttershy seemingly 'knocked' on the door twice and waited. A short time passed before the fastest flyer in Equestria opened the door.

Gaz took the initiative.

"Hey Rainbow? Me and 'Shy here just came around to say we're sorry. Me for being a _bit _of a dick, and her for using that creepy stare thing on you."

Rainbow and Fluttershy stared at Gaz's use of the Equestrian (English) language.

"We cool?" He added, raising a hoof.

"Yeah we cool," Rainbow bumped his hoof with a grin, "I guess I'm sorry for being so hostile to you, and don't worry about the stare 'Shy, I was in the wrong."

Gaz stopped a bout of laughter.

_Rainbow Dash, being humble? Well I never..._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for seemingly cutting this one short, it was an absolute BITCH to write. (Although writing the first part was a refreshing change of pace...)<strong>

**I first heard about Hollans Law in one of SUPERMARIOGALAXY13's videos on YouTube; I PM'd him to ask him about it and it turns out it's completely made up. So yeah, I kind of shamelessly stole this from him. If you're reading this SMG13; PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

**See that explanation about how the Hazmat suit 'protects' Jason? I wrote that. Completely made it up off the top of my head. Quite pleased with it myself...**

**One last thing... I'm more of a reader than a writer, and I spend a great deal of time on so send me a PM if you need help with your story or you want to bounce ideas off me! The reason I say this is there are a lot of good stories out there that never get off the ground due to lack of... Encouragement. I just want to help that's all, so don't be afraid to drop a line!**

**I also changed the rating to M and re-wrote the summary.**

**Don't forget to R&R, and constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	8. A Storm is brewing

**Life On Mars**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

><p><span>Equestria - Ponyville<span>

After reconciling with Rainbow Dash, Gaz and Fluttershy had gone their separate ways. Fluttershy had returned to her home to look after the animals, Gaz had asked if she needed help, however she insisted she was fine. Gaz took this opportunity to explore Ponyville to a greater extent, he enjoyed aimlessly wandering about the town.

Currently Gaz was walking the outskirts of Ponyville, near the back alleys of most of the buildings. A practice he would have never undertaken back home, due to the dangers of being attacked by some degenerates. However he felt safer in Ponyville for some reason, after all this place is supposedly a cartoon, there couldn't be any violence here right?

Gaz rounded a corner that would take him back towards Ponyville when he spotted a group of three Ponies stood on the opposite side of the road, all of them where male, roughly his age, and stood in a semi-circle facing Gaz.

_Just ignore them, just ignore them. _He repeated in his head.

However it was to no avail, as when Gaz walked past, their talking became hushed, Gaz heard the clopping of hooves as one of them walked over to him.

"Hey see I told you!" He called over to his friends who were still at the other side of the road, "He is a Blank Flank."

Gaz sighed inwardly, remembering that he possessed no Cutie Mark on his flank.

"It must suck huh Blank Flank?" The Colt to his left continued, "Knowing everyone else is better than you?"

Gaz rolled his eyes at this. Unfortunately for him, the Colt took offence at this.

"Hey!" He jumped in front of Gaz, blocking his path, "Don't you roll your eyes at me."

Gaz looked at him, the Colt in front was an Earth-Pony with a vibrant red mane that contrasted greatly against his grey coat. His eyes where a deep purple, and were fixed in a scowl.

Normally Gaz would've diffused the situation with a sorry, and carried on his merry way. Unfortunately, Gaz's nicotine withdrawal was playing havoc with his better judgement.

"Get out of my way," He muttered.

"Heh, what're gonna do about it?" The Colt butted Gaz causing him to take a step back.

Gaz could see where this was going, it was going to end in a fight. Gaz wasn't a fighter, simply because he never saw the point in violence. He still knew how to fight thanks to his Dad, although it was going to be difficult in this Pony body. What he did know however was that the Colt in front of him would attack with either a head butt or he would try to buck him, he would have to plan accordingly.

Gaz 'back-handed' the Colt across the face with his hoof, causing him stumble to the right. Gaz then tackled the Pony to the ground, linked his right hoof around the Colt's 'arm' and pulled it behind his back and pinned the Colt down with his other hoof. The end result was a crude, but effective, arm-lock. The alien manoeuvre caught the Colt by surprise as he didn't know what hit him until he was face down in the dirt.

"You gonna back the fuck off? Or am I gonna have to go a little further?" Gaz put emphasis on the 'further' by pulling back on the Pony's arm. He mentally thanked his Father for teaching him this stuff.

"P-Please! Let me go!" The Colt pleaded, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Gaz removed his hold on the Colt, turned and walked off back down the road. He heard the Colt scramble to his feet and run off. Gaz didn't want to do that, but the punk needed some sense knocked into him.

_Hell after all, he hit first..._

He turned through some alleys and emerged into a side-street bathed in the bright midday sun, he walked along the street and turned off in th direction of the main streets, lighting a cigarette on the way. He knew he had to kick this addiction sooner or later, he seriously doubted the existence of cigarettes in Equestria.

* * *

><p>He continued walking and emerged on the main streets of Ponyville, the cigarette that hung loosely from his lips earning a few odd looks as he passed by, and those who caught a whiff of the putrid smoke almost fled the scene.<p>

Gaz was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear the scooter and cart that came barrelling into him, knocking him over, and sending three Fillies flying. Gaz hit the cobbles with a dull thud, he groaned as he slowly pushed himself to his hooves, standing the the unfinished cigarette that fell out of his mouth. He turned to see the three Fillies all sprawled in a heap, he recognised them instantly.

_Scootaloo, Apple-Bloom, and Sweetie Bell..._

Apple-Bloom was the first to her feet, she looked up to see Gaz looking at them with a raised brow. She remembered him from lunch at her home earlier and sprang to her feet.

"Oh! Mr. Gareth! Are you okay?" She looked over her shoulder as her two companions rose to their hooves. "We didn' see you there..."

"Hey, it's okay," Gaz forced a smile, "Please just call me Gaz..."

"Sorry.." Apple-Bloom replied, "Girls this is Gaz, he's a friend of Applejacks, Gaz this is Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo."

"Hello!" Sweetie Bell smiled.

"Hey..." Scootaloo nodded.

"Pleased to met you two." Gaz paused, "What're you girls doing any way?"

He knew exactly what they where doing, they where...

"Trying to earn our Cutie Marks!" Scootaloo piped up.

"**We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!**" They all cheered in union, causing Gaz to flinch and turn away covering his ears.

Then, the three girls spotted something.

"Gaz! You don' have a Cutie Mark!" Apple-Bloom piped up, pointing at his flank.

"Huh?" Gaz craned his neck, "Well waddya know, I don't do I?"

He paused.

"Thing is I already know what my special talent is..." Gaz added with a sly grin.

"What is it?" The three Fillies asked.

"Singing." He sang, extending his hoof outward and holding the note. Earning laughs from the Crusaders. "What? I'm a band and everything!"

"Wow really!" Scootaloo asked, Gaz nodded, "You and your group should totally enter the talent show in 2 days!"

"Yeah!" Apple-Bloom and Sweetie Bell agreed.

"Well I would like to, but the problem is the band is..." Gaz paused, thinking of an excuse, "Back in Manehattan! Yeah, and even then they're all busy at the moment..."

"You should still think about it." Sweetie Bell added.

"Yeah, jus' heard over to Town Hall to pick an' application form." Apple-Bloom pointed a hoof to the East.

"I may just do that actually..." Gaz commented looking off in the direction the young Filly pointed.

By this time Scootaloo had gotten her scooter back on it's wheels and reattached the cart.

"C'mon Crusaders! We need to pick up the pace if we want to earn our Cutie Marks!" She instructed.

"Right!" Both Sweetie Bell and Apple-Bloom climbed into the cart behind Scootaloo.

"See ya later Gaz!" The Crusaders shouted as they sped off.

"Catch you later..." Gaz shouted back.

He looked in the direction of the Town Hall and sighed, he'd just lied through his teeth about his past. Manehattan? Great, that conflicted with his whole "I don't remember a thing" story.

_It's gonna come back and bite you in the arse later Gaz..._

He looked up to the sky and watched the sun lower itself further into the horizon, he gauged the time at roughly 6:30. Gaz decided he might as well have some fun while he was here and headed off towards to the Town Hall.

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Unknown location<span>

The Minion slithered up the stone steps and into the main hall of the Castle. His Master had taken over this Castle just recently, so it was still relatively unaffected by the dark taint that his Master radiated.

The hall was large and unfurnished, the stain glass windows that would usually adorn the walls where dirty and broken. Tapestries hung tattered from the walls and the rug that lead up the throne at the end of the hall was dirty and ruined. The throne that would usually face downwards into the hall was turned and faced a large map of Equestria, the map was worn and looked several years out of date.

"My Master..." The Minion 'knelt' behind the throne, "In Everfree Forest there was a..."

"_**Disturbance. I know, my child, for I feel and see everything..."**_

A large shadow seemingly rose out of the throne and walked around to see the Minion 'knelt' at his 'feet', it almost looked like it was stooping lower as the shadow approached.

"_**Remember, you are but an extension of me, I see everything that you see, now sleep..."**_

The shadow extended an appendage forward, which manifested into a claw. The shadow grabbed his Minion by the scruff of it's neck. A moment later, and the Minion was gone.

The shadow returned to it's throne, and looked longingly over the map. From what it had 'seen' through his Minions, the world was surprisingly peaceful, there where no ills plaguing this world. The creatures that appeared through the other-worldly gate however did not appear as friendly as the inhabitants of this world.

Still, the shadow would have to thank them at some point, if it wasn't for their intrusion on this world. They would not have brought through the hate and malice that the shadow practically embodied. The shadow drew his claw over the map, and placed a 'finger' over where the castle was on the map. It watched with unfeeling eyes as a black 'ink' seemingly washed over the land from where his 'finger' was pressed.

As Celestia's star traded places in the heavens with Luna's, the shadow sat and watched and waited...

* * *

><p><span>Earth – Unknown location<span>

Jason had gotten a couple of hours sleep before he was called to the main deck of the facility. He was instructed to get 'suited and booted' before hand. A quick stop at the Armoury was spent putting on the new Hazmat Suits that would protect him when he passed through the CDG with his team.

The suit was much more streamlined, now more slim fitting, it also incorporated a dual layer fabric to cover up the intense bright white of the suit. Instead, it looked more like a camouflaged jumpsuit. The normal Interceptor Body Armour slipping snugly over the top. Unfortunately, the helmet was almost exactly the same as on previous Hazmat suits, however the visor was now a hard plastic, stretching from the chin, to just above the forehead, the visor was also tinted, providing protection from the glare from the sun and flashbangs. The whole armour was in DPM-95 camo, a woodland camouflage scheme, a white stripe ran down his left arm, indicating he was squad leader.

He was given the choice of a number of weapons for first contact, Jason opted for something that was smaller than most rifles, and would not be cumbersome to carry. He was issued the FN F2000, the black resin of the body had re-coated a dull green. Jason was also issued 4 magazines for his FN F2000, and F-S Fighting knife. Upon questioning the Quartermaster about the lack of equipment, he received a blunt response.

"General's orders, Cooper. Besides, one of the guys going in with you makes up for it..."

As he stepped up into the main deck, 5 men stood in front of the inactive CDG 4 large bags where at their feet and 3 of the men were wearing a similar get up to him. He knew all of them.

On the far left was Shaun, who fidgeted nervously, and next to him stood the imposing General Horowitz.

The General was a large man, standing 6"4 he easily over shadowed everyone stood near him, the beret perched on his head had a skull and crossbones pin pinned to it, the logo of their private military corporation. An eye patch covered his left eye, no one had ever asked the General about his eye, and for a good reason. He had a nasty temper.

"Cooper!" Horowitz barked, "Took you fucking long enough Sergeant, you're all to be issued code-names, this is a _priority one _mission, your code-name is: Seeker."

Jason almost scoffed at the melodramatic General

"Time to meet your fire-team"

He indicated in the direction of the three soldiers, all wearing the exact same uniform as Jason, Albeit with different colour stripes on their left arms.

The man stood farthest on the left had a Stealth Recon Scout, or an SRS rifle, hanging by the strap. Holstered on his chest was a Sig P226, his stripe colour was a deep red. He nodded at the two men.

"That's Ulysses," The man in question nodded slightly, "He spent 10 years in a POW camp after our last campaign, he doesn't talk much."

Horowitz turned Jason's attention the next man, he stood hefting a HK G36 fitted with a large drum magazine, inbuilt scope and a bi-pod, strapped to his left shoulder was a large knife, Jason guessed it was a Bowie. He noticed the two men looking at him and mocked a salute, Jason noticed his stripe colour was a bright yellow.

"That's Bulldog," Horowitz rubbed his chin, "British guy, joined with us a year or two back, good soldier."

The last man stood off to the far right, he held his Sagia-12 shotgun almost in the ready position, he fingers drumming on the front grip. Jason noticed he did not seem to understand 'trigger discipline', as his finger was curled around the trigger. He had a VBR-PDW strapped to his waist, which moved erratically when he turned quickly to look at the 2 men staring at him. His stripe colour was a deep blue.

"That's Psycho," Horowitz cringed at the choice of codename, "He's one of our most vicious fighters..."

With introductions finished, Horowitz and Shaun stepped over to the console, and Shaun began to power up the CDG. Charlie-Three-One picked up their packs and slung them over their backs. There was a brief pause before the gate exploded into life, sending a shock wave of air throughout the facility. Members of the science team who had come to watch braced themselves as the wind battered them.

"All right boys!" Horowitz shouted over the howl of the wind, one hand gripping his beret, "Get in there, scout out the local wildlife. Then set up a forward base camp, the rest of the force will be joining you in 2 days. You have more than enough provisions to last you that time!"

The CDG stabilised and the wind died down, what was left was a view of that same forest surrounded by a purple glow.

"Remember, you _have permission_ to engage, _only _if they initiate hostilities first. We don't need that sort of trouble yet." Horowitz paused, "Good luck Charlie-Three-One."

The Fire-team nodded at their General, and walked through the gate into the world of Equestria...

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry, major writers block...<strong>

**Anyway, I'm pleased with this chapter! I hope their aren't **_**too **_**many mistakes! It may seem like slow going at them minute, but fear not! I have a clear idea of where I want to take this story, so hopefully you'll never have to deal with month long hiatus'.**

**Also, I feel I'm taking a few big risks here,**

**1 I feel as if I'm 'changing' the story _too_ soon.**

**2 I feel that my "military terminology" is up to scratch.**

**Or maybe it's just me...**

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive critisim is welcomed!**

**Peace**

**~TRW**


	9. Charlie Three One

**Life On Mars**

**Chapter 9**

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><p><strong>-I'd like to take this opportunity to <em>properly <em>thank those who are consistent reviewers and/ or have provided great reviews:**

**Lavasharks**

**Thecommabandit**

**Ponylover74**

**Antrxx**

**Molotov Cocktail**

**GrimlockX4**

**And to everyone else, you have my condolences...**

**Now on with the show!**

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Everfree Forest<span>

**[A/N: I'm going to be using Charlie-Three-One's code-names from now on, so remember Jason = Seeker.]**

The searing bright light of 'the transition' between dimension blinded Seeker for a split second before he found himself in a familiar clearing. He turned to see the CDG close behind him, leaving no trace of it's presence. Turning to his comrades, Seeker took this time to quickly gauge their personalities. Ulysses seemed like the 'strong, silent type', Seeker reckoned he wouldn't get much in the way of conversation out of him. The man in question was currently recoiling from the effect of travelling to another dimension, leaning against a nearby tree for support. Seeker also noted how he was seemingly still alert, and even in his weakened state had not let his guard down. A cough from the floor brought Seeker's attention to the forest floor, only to see Bulldog on his hands and knees breathing heavily, he hoped he hadn't been sick in his helmet. Judging by the introduction he got off Bulldog, Seeker decided that he was a fairly easy going character. Horowitz had commented saying he was a good soldier, Seeker hoped he was right, as he seriously doubted Psycho's combat-effectiveness. Psycho in question was down on one knee, resting his left hand on the barrel of his Saiga-12, his free hand wielding the VBR pointing it at the tree-line ahead of them. Seeker was unnerved by Psycho's seemingly erratic behaviour, and hoped he wouldn't compromise the mission.

Bulldog moved to a kneeling position, placing his MG36 on the floor. He grabbed his pack and began to rummage through it. A few brief seconds past before he stood up hefting his prize. The device he held in his gloved hands was unusual, Seeker had not seen anything like it before. Three legs protruded from the bottom, with a large spike that would impale into the ground when placed. The top of the object was bulky, with many wires and circuits exposed to the elements. Bulldog unfolded the legs of the device, and with a grunt, thrust it into the ground. He stooped over to fiddle with some of the wires before standing up again.

"What's that Bulldog?" Seeker asked, leaning over his shoulder, he noticed the Ulysses and Psycho had wordlessly gotten up and started to scan the tree-line.

"It's a AST." Bulldog huffed, "Atmospheric Stabilising Transponder. We need this to set up the forward base."

Bulldog finished his sentence by flicking a small switch on the AST, which began to crackle with energy. Both Seeker stepped back as the device built up energy, he looked at Bulldog who merely stood by the device with his arms folded. Seeker was about to question his calmness when a large bubble began to expand over them, encompassing the entire area. The bubble stopped at the edge of the clearing, blanketing the area in a faint blue glow. Bulldog moved forward to the device and typed a few numbers into a keypad on the side of the device. The AST's main control panel deadlocked and sunk into the ground. The bubble began to stabilise, and the blue glow was lifted from the clearing, the only visible evidence was a blue line left by the bubble's edge on the forest floor.

"What the hell was that?" Psycho spluttered from the other side of the clearing.

"Well, the AST produces a bubble which..." Bulldog paused, "The best explanation I can give you for this is that it's like an air lock, it enables us to take our suits off inside the bubble." Bulldog moved his hands to his helmet's release button.

Seeker looked at the rest of Charlie-Three-One, Ulysses wordlessly agreed and began to remove his helmet, Psycho however stood stock still helmet still on. Seeker shrugged before, pressing the catch on his suit that would let the pressure out and release the helmet. He grabbed the helmet by the lip at the bottom and swung it off his head and placed it next to his pack. Looking up, Seeker caught a good look at Ulysses and Bulldog. Bulldog's hair was an auburn, however the small goatee around his chin and lips was brown. His face was rather slim with defined cheekbones and a pointy jaw, his ears were n the larger side however. Bulldog scanned Seeker's face with inquisitive green eyes, probably remarking at how much he looked like a "John Doe" sort of character. Seeker turned his attention to Ulysses, the man before him had tanned skin, which contrasted greatly with his bright blue eyes, he was also completely bald. Ulysses' face could best be described as 'round' however his profile was well defined in contrast. Seeker scratched his beard as he turned to see Psycho looking at the three helmet less men with what Seeker guesses was a confused expression.

"You not going to take your helmet off?" He asked, glancing at the other two men.

"No." Psycho turned about face and walked away, "We need to start a fire, I'll get some thicket from the forest floor while you three get set up."

Seeker turned back to the remaining men, looking at their blank faces. He ordered them to get set up but remain alert, he had the feeling he was being watched last time he was in this forest. If they let their guard down it could be the end of them, they had to remain vigilant in this strange world. Digging in his pack, Seeker found the components to a large 2 man tent, he presumed that someone in Charlie-Three-One had another tent as his was simply not large enough to contain four men and all of their equipment. He motioned to Bulldog and Ulysses to help him set up the tent while Psycho scavenged for wood, preferably dry, as smoke made from damp thicket would attract unwanted attention to their little camp.

An hour later a strong fire was burning in between two khaki coloured tents. The fire would emit crackle and a small ember would erupt from the wood and race down onto the grass. It would lie there for a brief moment before extinguishing itself. Seeker internally counted the cycle many times as the group sat in silence warming themselves around the fire. His count had reached 10, when Ulysses spoke up.

"Psycho," An air of calmness accompanied his voice, "Will you ever remove your helmet?"

The man in question looked up at Ulysses from the patch on the ground where he sat, then looked at the other 2 men. He sighed begrudgingly and hit the seal on his helmet and slid it off his head. Seeker took in the man's face. A nasty scar ran from his right temple to just underneath his eye-socket, the scar was a bright pink against his pale skin. It took a glance to Psycho's short white hair and red eyes for Seeker to release he was an Albino.

"There? Happy?" Psycho snapped, dumping his helmet on the floor.

"Yes, actually." Ulysses replied, his head tilted towards the stars.

Bulldog noticed Ulysses' gaze and joined him in looking skyward.

"Bloody hell just look at that sky," He let out a low whistle, "Y'don't get something like that back home..."

Seeker looked up to see what all the fuss was about. His jaw went slack as the swirling cosmos above them twinkled with life. Stars littered the sky like jewels and were strewn about the sky as if all of humanities' greatest artists had each taken turns to paint on this expansive black canvas.

"Damn, I could sit here and look at that all night..."

Psycho didn't look at the sky like the rest of Charlie-Three-One, he merely scratched his chin checked his watch that was strapped to the underside of his left wrist.

"It's 10pm." He grunted, looking at Seeker.

"Right," Seeker stood up, "Everyone hit the sack, we've got a long 2 days ahead of us. Fir-"

"Hold up, who the fuck put you in charge?" Psycho snapped, standing up. "Ordering me about like-"

"What's everyone's rank?" Seeker butted in, he crossed his arms.

"Private." They all uttered, some more happily than others.

"Sergeant," Seeker jerked a thumb at himself. "So, Psycho, I _order_ you to get some sleep. Then, at precisely..." He checked his own watch, "12pm, I want you to relieve Bulldog of watch duty."

Psycho muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

"I'll relieve you at 2am, and Ulysses? You'll take over from me at 4am. I want everyone up and ready to go at 6 on the dot is that clear?"

The three men nodded, much to Seeker's current annoyance.

"I _said_, is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I should damn well think so..."

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Ponyville<span>

_**1 Hour earlier...**_

Gaz was surprised at how long he'd spent in the Town Hall trying to get an application form. As the competition was 2 days away, no more applicants were being accepted. This lead to Gaz pleading with Mayor Mare to let him into the contest. She submitted, eventually, and Gaz was hastily placed on the rota for the night. It turned out that he would be performing last after a magic act by one "Colgate". Gaz smiled at the name, knowing of which Pony it was, and how their mane looked remarkably like tooth-paste. He sauntered through the streets of Ponyville, the sun had set and very few Ponies roamed the streets at this hour. Gaz stopped on the corner of the main street, aptly named "Mane Street". The street seemed to contain what little night-life Ponyville had, a few Pubs and Clubs here and there.

Gaz decided to take a detour and ambled down the street, he looked in through the windows of a few bars as he passed, most of them were notably empty. Gaz noticed that most Ponies were walking towards a bar at end of the street, he could hear the dull thump of a bass emitting from within it's walls. Gaz started to trot towards the Nightclub out of sheer curiosity, he had no money or 'Bits' to buy anything or even pay for entry though. Gaz was roughly half-way there when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned his head to see a Stallion much larger than himself towering over him, with a bright red coat and a vibrant orange mane. It was Big Macintosh.

"Didn' expect to see you here, Gareth." A small smile crept up on Big Mac's face.

"Well, I just saw the commotion from up the street and decided to check it out..." Gaz jerked his hoof at the Nightclub, "Would never have pegged you for the clubbing type, Mac."

"I ain't," Big Mac directed Gaz's attention to a bar across the street, "Ah like this place though"

Gaz raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Even a Pony like me get's some time off now an again, Gareth," Big Mac huffed, "Why don't ya join me?"

Gaz pondered Big Mac's question for a moment, it'd been a long time since he'd been 'out on the town' with his friends back home. However he didn't know Big Mac _that _well, plus, he had no money.

_And Fluttershy is probably wondering where you are, considering you said you'd be back around 8ish..._

"I'm gonna have to pass on this one Mac," Gaz turned about face and headed back the way he came, "Some other time?"

"Eeyup." The Workhorse replied, pausing for a moment before stepping through the doors of the Pub titled, 'The Pony and Trap'.

Gaz broke out into a gallop as he made his way up the street and back towards the edge of town, he paused for a moment digging into his satchel searching for is Iphone.

"Where the... Bloody hell..." Gaz stopped mid-sentence as a cold wave of dread passed over him.

He'd lost his Iphone.

That was bad. Very, very, _very_ bad! If someone got a hold of that and somehow managed to get it working... His secrets will be revealed. Thinking Gaz thought back to the places he _might_ have dropped it. The scuffle with the Pony before? No, his Satchel needed to be opened to get inside, things couldn't fall out on their own. The Party? Oh shit, yes. The party last night, he'd taken his Iphone out of it's satchel when he was trying to get his cigarettes out, he _must've _left it at the Library. But Twilight would've seen it and tried to get it back to him wouldn't she?

He trudged up the dirt path towards Fluttershy's cottage, contemplating his next move. Tomorrow he'd get up early, and swing by the Library in the morning, if it wasn't there he'd check the alley where he had that fight. And if not? Well he'd pray that nopony would stumble across the alien device. Gaz noticed the lights were on in the cottage, and figures were moving back and forth behind the open window. He edged up slowly as he heard muffled voices coming from inside.

"...all the evidence is here, Gaz is hiding something." Gaz only caught the end of Twilight's sentence.

Gaz lowered his head, knowing that the shit had hit the fan for him.

"Exactly Sugercube, he doesn't act like anyone of us, and the stuff he carries around with him, those 'cigarettes', they defiantly ain't from around here..." Applejack interjected.

"Yeah, and the amnesia thing? He's a worse liar than you Applejack." Rainbow Dash added, there was a pause presumably as Applejack gave Rainbow a mean look, "Uh, no offence."

"Well _I _think he is charming, and rather dashing..." Rarity added with a noble air, "Although I do agree something _is_ off with him."

Gaz raised his head, and turned to the door, if there was one thing he didn't like it was people talking behind his back, even if they had a right to. Paranoid? Maybe. But he knew when to accept defeat.

_Time to face the music, old boy... _He mused to himself.

Gaz took a deep breath, before opening the door and stepping into the well lit room, a fire burned in the corner of the room, and all of the Ponies were gathered around it. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie-Pie, and Fluttershy. They were all here, and now they stared at him with great intent, some stares more menacing than others, Applejack and Rainbow being notable examples. Considering they were the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty respectively that was no surprise to Gaz. Twilight and Rarity both shared the same stare, curiosity, and Pinkie? Well, Pinkie looked at Gaz as if she had known him since she was a little Filly. Fluttershy's however caused Gaz to frown a little, her gaze was one of sadness, upset over the prospect of being lied to. The Pony who she let stay in her house, her _bed_ (if only for one night), was not all he seemed.

Gaz sighed slightly.

"How much did you hear?" Applejack started.

"Enough." Gaz replied.

He looked to the ceiling, and closed his eyes. Something he always did when nervous. He returned his gaze back to the group in front of him, trying to ignore Fluttershy's stare, pleading with him that all these accusations were false.

"You've got some explaining to do," Rainbow Dash nodded her head to the table near Gaz, on it sat his Iphone.

"Start talking."

* * *

><p><strong>I had fun writing that one! Shame it took so long though, well <strong>I guess <em>I <em>better explain myself too**...  
><strong>

**This story is a _bitch _to write. There I said it. I know where I want to go with this story, however it's getting there that's the problem. That being said, I enjoy writing this, so don't get the idea that I'll drop this story. I won't, I'm going to finish it, as long as it takes.**

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Take care.**

**~TRW **


	10. Revelations

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

><p>Gareth Mason was in a bit of a bind.<p>

It turns out lying through your teeth at people who have bent over backwards for you it _not _a good idea. Now Gaz had to spill the beans over his situation. How he wasn't a Pony, he was an alien. And how he seemingly 'appeared' in Equestria one day. And how the hell was he going to explain to them that they were cartoon characters in his world! He let out a sigh at his carelessness. Thinking back, Gaz contemplated what would've happened if he had just been open about his past. Well, for starters he could've gotten this bullshit out of the way early and not have to deal with it now. Hell, even the Ponies may have been more charitable than now, if they were anything like humans were, they are not going to want to negotiate when the wool has been pulled over their eyes!

Closing his eyes he imagined what would happen in the near future. He'd explain everything, the Mane 6 would shun him. Princess Celestia and Luna would be notified of an alien intruder in Ponyville and Gaz would be taken captive. Gaz's trail of thought ground to a halt there as he didn't want to imagine what would happen to him in Canterlot's dungeons, if he learnt anything from Medieval History it's that you do _not _want to end up in a castle dungeon...

Gaz thought about everything he'd lost, his family, his home. He'd never see them again; Mum, Dad... Harry? For all Gaz knew he could be lying dead in the middle of White Tail Wood. No, Harry is still alive he could feel it. His band, they had a gig booked in a month's time when he awoke it what seemed to be another time, let alone 2-3 days ago. Now he was here, stuck as a Pony. Sure he knew _some _things about Equestria and how it worked, but he was still an outsider. He was trapped in a foreign world in a foreign body. Even if he did enjoy his time here, Gaz did want to return home..

Gaz reopened his eyes to see the Mane 6 still staring intently, some with harsh gazes, some with curious gazes. One with a sad gaze. Christ, Fluttershy's hurt gaze almost made Gaz shed a tear in disgust with himself in duping one of the most timid and friendly of the bunch. He knew back home that if any Bronies found out what he did they would tear him limb from limb! He liked Fluttershy, and the thought that he had hurt her killed Gaz. The weighing up of the options in his head was killing him, he had never felt this stressed out before.

"I guess I should start from the beginning..." He spoke softly

"Yeah, Ah think you better had." The Element of Honesty spoke up.

If Gaz had hands he would wring them at this point, he had to settle with scuffing his hoof off the floor.

"Well I think you all better grab a chair," Gaz gave a dry smile, "It's going to be a long night..."

The Ponies gathered around, sitting on various pieces of Fluttershy's furniture, with the Mare in question sitting upon a small chair opposite Applejack. Gaz just sat himself on the floor, a pang of nostalgia creeping up from his infant years at school. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all squeezed on the couch near Gaz's right, and Rainbow Dash sat herself near Fluttershy. At this moment Angel Bunny sauntered into the room, as soon as he stepped through the door frame he detected the icy tension. Without breaking stride, he turned about face and walked back the way he came. It would've been rather comical had not Gaz been 'in the spotlight'.

"My name is Gareth Mason, I am 18 years of age." Gaz paused, "This you already know. However what you don't know is that I'm really a Human, a bipedal creature with a highly developed brain capable of reasoning, problem solving and just about every rational thought that a Pony can comprehend. Perhaps even more. He have hands for easy manipulation of objects, and we have extreme social and cultural diversions between ourselves, more so than any Pony. We are Omnivores, meaning we can eat both Vegetables and Meat. Our desire for knowledge is powerful, and influences our every action, ranging from Science, Art and Religion... If I remember correctly our global population is 7 billion."

"Our planet, is Earth, although it goes under many other names. Such as Terra; literally meaning 'Mother Earth'. Our planet has huge sprawling oceans and various landscapes. Varying from the driest desert to the must humid Rainforest and everything in-between. One major difference is that the Sun and the Moon are not raised by some deity, rather we orbit around the Sun, and the Moon orbits our planet However Humans are destructive. We disagree easily and fight amongst ourselves over everything and anything. While not every Human is bad, and we can be creative and wonderful, war is a constant thing in our lives... Hell, entire civilisations have gone up in flames, thousands of people dying in the blink of an eye..."

Gaz took a brief pause, noting the Ponies' look of horror. He sighed inwardly.

"I do not know how I got here, that is for certain. I remember being sucked in through a vortex... Then appearing on your doorstep." Gaz was talking more to Fluttershy now, desperately trying to rid the look of fear off her face. "I don't know how I am a Pegasus either, so please don't quiz me on it."

"If there is one thing I can tell you, it is I am _not_ one of those destructive Humans. They are a minority compared to the amount of passionate and caring humans out there. I would not say I am the best person ever, I mean I'm cynical and make cheap wisecracks." He stared into Fluttershy's eyes, more pleading than informing now. "However I can promise you that I would never dream of harming anyone, anypony for that matter! Yes, I know I've pulled the wool over your eyes, hell, you let me stay in your house! I'm not asking for forgiveness for my actions, I'm only going to ask that you look at it from my perspective, trapped in a world where you don't belong with no way of getting back..."

Gaz felt a couple of tears well up, he wasn't even sure why he was crying. Was it fear of what happens now? Was it the dawning realisation that he may never get home? Or was it the fact that he'd alienated the only friends he'd made here? Gaz wasn't sure. He tore his gaze away from Fluttershy, to see the other Ponies still staring at him intently. Some gazes had softened, while others retained their hard and accusing gaze.

_I think I made a good move not telling them how they're cartoon characters... _Gaz mused to himself.

"That sounds like a mighty tall tale there, mister." Applejack gave Gaz her biggest 'stink-eye', "You really expect me to believe that?..."

"Applejack, you really think I could've made up all that on the spot?" A small moment of humour broke through the tension, "I mean, I know I'm pretty clever but please, -heh- you flatter me too much!"

A small set of smiles broke through the group as Applejack weighed up Gaz's response in her head, before sheepishly rubbing her head with her hoof. The smiles disappeared as quickly as they came however as silence descended on the group once more. Gaz must have presumed that what he told them was _not _what they were expecting, an alien from another dimension? That sort of thing only happened in stories.

"I'll..." Gaz paused again, "I'll just be outside until you decide what to do with me..."

The Mane 6 watched Gaz walk slowly out of the cottage and close the door behind him. Silence gripped them as they listened to the slow tread of his hooves as he walked away. When they finally were inaudible, Twilight was the first to speak up.

"Well, that was quite a story..." She spoke to no-pony in particular.

"Ah don't buy it!" Applejack stomped her hoof, "Somethin' about him jus' don' add up! He says he doesn't know how he got here, but _how in Equestria _does someone get warped across dimen, dimeensons?"

"Dimensions" Twilight helped.

"Yeah those thangs.." Applejack waved her hoof at Twilight.

"He is a Gentlecolt at heart, and he hasn't put any of us any danger.," Rarity interjected, "Although I agree with Applejack..."

"He's super duper!" Pinkie bounced up and down.

It was at point that the other 5 Ponies wordlessly agreed that Pinkie Pie wasn't the best person to help discuss _serious _matters.

"I'm with Applejack on this one," Rainbow stepped forward, "He's hiding something, and it's not going to be nice..."

Twilight cleared her throat, "The world where he comes from sounds incredibly dangerous, and even if he _did_ give us his word that he wasn't a bad 'person', but who knows whether he was lying? He's lied to us so far... Fluttershy, what do you think?"

The Pony in question had remained silent ever since Gaz had entered the cottage, a steady stream of tears had leaked from her eyes. She had listened to her friend's opinions, she was upset how they were quick to judge him. Did they learn nothing from their experience with Zecora? At the mention of her name she looked up, her friends looking at her intently, waiting for her input on the Pony she had let stay in her home for the last couple of days. The Pony who she... Fluttershy stood up and quickly made for the door and left the cottage, leaving her friends baffled.

"What'n the hay was that about?" Applejack spoke eveypony's mind.

* * *

><p>Outside, Gaz sat on a grassy bank not too far from the front door. He'd succumbed to his addiction and lit up another cigarette, it was only then he realised that his hooves where shaking due to a lack of nicotine. That worried him, what happens when he ran out? Going 'cold turkey' was never a good idea, but he was left with little options at his disposal. He was thankful for the warm breeze that ruffled his mane every now and again, silently thanking the 'powers that be' that it was a <em>cold<em> breeze, that would've been nearly intolerable.

He pondered on what the Mane 6 where talking about back indoors, he had a good idea, as each of them would have formed their own opinions on Gaz other the last couple of days. Rainbow Dash and Applejack would be the most opinionated, but that was just who they were, Gaz couldn't blame them for their mannerisms. That's when a realisation struck him; no matter how different Ponies where, they still had all the flaws Humans had. They loved, cried, fought, shouted, and killed. Well, he seriously doubted the last one but he wouldn't be surprised. Ponies were just as good or bad as Humans could be. This comforted Gaz, as perhaps when they inevitably get Princess Celestia and Luna involved, perhaps they could relate to him somehow and be a little easier on him.

Gaz's thoughts turned to Fluttershy, at her face when he'd entered the cottage. It pained him, more so than anything. He _liked _Fluttershy, he wasn't going to fool himself any more. He liked her more than anyone he'd ever met. This almost upset him, as even though he _was_ a Pony, he was still Human inside. Fluttershy and him where species apart. What would people think if they found out? What would Twilight, Rarity and all the others think? It pained him. Did she feel the same way? Or was she leading him on like most women he'd encountered? No, Fluttershy wasn't like that, was she?

He was so wrapped in thoughts that he didn't notice the cigarette had burnt down to the filter and promptly took another drag, he spat out the filter while cringing at the horrid taste, before he stepped on the smouldering end with his hoof. Gaz looked at his hoof, tears forming at the edge of his vision. Who or what brought me here? How am I going to get home? _Will _I ever get home?... He heard the cottage door open, Gaz didn't turn to see who it was however, he hung his head as he heard the soft tread of hooves on grass come closer until he felt someone sit down next to him. Gaz still didn't look at the Pony, he turned his head ever so slightly away trying fight back some tears.

"I guess you've all come to a decision then?" He muttered almost bitterly.

"Yes... I, I have..." Gaz recognised the timid voice, he turned his head back to the Pony next to him. Fluttershy sat next to him, her cyan eyes had the remnants of tears that had flown from them. Her expression was not one of sadness as it was before, however it wasn't one of happiness either, rather it was neutral. Gaz guessed what that meant, he turned away from Fluttershy and sighed.

"I'll get my stuff," He went to stand up, but felt a hoof stop him. Gaz looked back at Fluttershy to see that it was _her _hoof was stopping him from moving.

"Gareth... I, I _don't _care what they think, what anypony thinks about you. I..." She paused, turning away slightly almost contemplating what she was going to say.

What happened next Gaz was _not _expecting.

Fluttershy had leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Gaz's brain had gone into complete shut-down, sitting completely stock still eyes wide open. Fluttershy stopped and pulled away, noticing Gaz's shocked expression, she squeaked hung her head and hid behind her mane.

"I'm sorry! I... I don't know what came over me! Oh.. Oh no... I'm sorry I just, I _like _you... And I thought that you _liked _me and-"

Fluttershy stopped when Gaz's brain began to function again and moved the mane out from in front of her face. He smiled at her, previous worries forgotton.

"Fluttershy..." It was Gaz's turn to look away and feel nervous, "Fluttershy, I... I _like _you as well. I was just having doubts over whether you... liked me too, and... Ah t'hell with it."

He leaned in and returned the kiss that Fluttershy had sheepishly given him earlier, she embraced him and wrapped her hooves around his neck unintentionally pushing him on his back. To an outsider, the whole affair would look like they were eating each others faces! They were oblivious to the outside world at the moment, their attention purely focused on each other.

"Uh, Fluttershy, Gaz, Ah need to talk to y'all..."

They both jolted away from each other, quickly climbing to their hooves. Gaz letting out a nervous cough as he noticed Applejack stood over them, a mix of confusion and... Disgust? Mixed on her face. Behind her stood the rest, Pinkie completely oblivious to what was happening. Twilight wide eyed at such pure emotions in front of her. Rainbow looked disgusted, reminding Gaz of little kids when they talk about love. Rarity was smiling however, looking at Fluttershy and sharing a knowing look with the timid Pegasus.

"Ah jus' wanted to say, I'm sorry Gaz." Applejack tipped her hat to him, "An' we've decided to keep this matter between ourselves. Twilight's sending a letter to Princess Celestia tomorrow, she'll know what to do."

She stepped away from Gaz, and Rainbow stepped forward and spoke into his ear so Fluttershy couldn't hear.

"Gaz, I trust you. But believe me when I say that Fluttershy is the most gentle Pony to grace Equestria. And if you hurt her, in _any _way, by Celestia you'll have me to answer to. Understand?"

Gaz knew Rainbow wasn't being mean, but she _was_ being deadly serious. He nodded in response, out of fear and honesty, Rainbow backed off and began to walk away with her friends.

"I guess I'll leave you two... To it..."

As they walked off, Gaz turned to Fluttershy, who looked at him. She smiled, for the first time tonight, and walked with Gaz back inside her cottage.

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Everfree Forest<span>

The Minion looked upon the camp from the shadows, it had been sat their for quite a while, waiting for the intruders to turn in for the night. While only one remained, the Minion felt it was time to inform the Master.

_**There is no need, my child. Remember I see everything you see. You are merely an extension of my will. Return to the castle, then, we shall begin the Purge...**_

If the Minion could sigh it would as it slunk through the forest back to his Master's domain. Although it's 'mind' was at ease on one fact: These intruders would rue the day they crossed into the domain of the Darkness...

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><p><strong>I'm feeling generous, here have a chapter.<strong>

**I wasn't _planning _on writing another, however Denepekka suggested that I need to create a chapter focused more on the main character, me! Haha..**

**Yeah, and about chapter length... I _know _it's not as long as it could be, but I feel this chapter length is right _for me._ But of course, I'm writing this story for you, dear reader. So I thank you, for sticking with me through the thick and thin.**

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Take care.**

**~TRW**


	11. The Morning After

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 11**

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><p><span>Ponyville - Equestria<span>

Celestia's sun rose from it's sleep, trading places in the sky with Luna's moon. As it broke over the horizon, the sun spread it's warmth over the whole of Equestria. Many early risers were getting up, weather Ponies in particular. These Pegasai where tasked with maintaining the balance of the elements over Equestria's skies. In Ponyville, the local weather Ponies where already up and about, Rainbow Dash being one of them, moving the clouds about. The day was supposed to start out nice, but around midday it would rain, and so the weather Ponies positioned all of the clouds in the correct positions so that as the day went along they would steadily move into position. It was a very orchestrated process that required hours of planning the day before-hand. However while these Pegasai where up and about, there where two that weren't.

"_Ah yes! Thank you! You guys are fucking awesome!" Gaz shouted to the audience. The club was tightly packed it had some strange smells and the ceiling was too low, generally it was a horrible place to be. But the audience didn't care, and neither did Gaz. They'd just pulled off a set they'd been practising for months, with no hiccups along the way. Truly their greatest gig thus far._

_He turned about face to the band behind him, waving a hand to the people screaming behind him. He bent over and picked up his beer from atop one of the speakers, swigging it as he walked off-stage. Gaz grinned like a mad idiot at the Bassist, Josh, who was technically his best mate. Josh could be described as 'lanky', his limbs were seemingly disproportionate in a rather comical fashion, his ginger hair was spiked up in a messy style. He nodded to Gaz as he approached._

"_Brilliant job there Josh," Gaz patted him on the shoulder as Josh placed his Bass on a stand before joining him off-stage, "You fucking nailed that Bass-line."_

"_Aye," Josh lightly punched Gaz in the arm, "You did a great job by the way."_

_It was at that moment Tom and Luke ran up to them, Guitarist and Drummer respectively. Tom was short with medium length brown hair, while Luke had short black hair and was fairly tall. Gaz always remarked how they were similar to Laurel and Hardy, as they were almost a comedy double act._

"_That was... Awesome!" Luke shouted at them, "We fucking did it!"_

_Tom laughed at his friends enthusiasm, "That Dani California cover was the best we've ever done!"_

_Gaz laughed as led the group into the back, two girls were stood there. Izzy and Laura, Tom and Luke's "Lady friends" as Josh would say. They both ran up to Tom and Luke and threw themselves on them._

"_Bloody hell, you continue on like that you'll have no face left!" Gaz joked._

_Josh chuckled and went over to talk to one of the owners of the club, leaving Gaz on his own. He sighed, pushing the door to outside open. Stepping out into the night air made Gaz shiver, he wiped some sweat off his forehead as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his Zippo. He stood there, studying the brass lighter, opening and closing the lid a couple of times before reaching for his cigarettes and lighting one. He was pleased he had the day off tomorrow, he had already planned a long lie in._

_A little while later, the stage was empty, and the band stood outside the club. Gaz was turning in for the night._

"_You not staying out?" Luke asked, Laura clinging to him._

"_Nah, pretty shattered to be honest, I'll see you all later..."_

"_All right man take care." Josh waved him off._

_Tom and Luke uttered their goodbyes as well, Gaz put two fingers to his brow and saluted them off as they walked away. Gaz was sometimes jealous of Tom and Luke's "luck with the ladies" as he'd once put it, but Josh wasn't bothered, so neither was he. Walking home, Gaz looked to the sky, clouds were covering up the stars, hinting at the chance of rain tomorrow. None the less, Gaz had a strange feeling inside that tomorrow was going to be a hell of a day..._

Gaz's eyes fluttered open as the morning sun eventually fell upon his face, he cursed the sun for waking him from the memory. As he came to his senses, it took a moment to realise where he was, he was in Fluttershy's bedroom. Looking over to his right, he saw Fluttershy, it took a moment to recall how he ended up here. Walking back inside after the group had left, Fluttershy offered to let him stay in her bed for the night, considering how badly he slept on the couch. Gaz asked were she would sleep, causing the timid Pegasus to hide behind her mane, blushing. Looking back Gaz chuckled silently at the awkwardness of the situation, he was brought back to reality by movement, Fluttershy string in her sleep.

She was curled up next to him, a soft smile drawn upon her face. Gaz smiled at the scene, and began to sit up. However as he did so, Fluttershy moved, and draped a hoof over his chest, quietly murmuring something, she had unintentionally trapped him. Gaz shook his head. He quietly and slowly slid back down to lying on his back, a motion that his Pony body protested slightly until he positioned himself correctly. His 'legs' tilted to the left while his wings were pressed flat against his body. He slid a hoof around Fluttershy as he moved his head ever so slightly so it wouldn't be in the sunlight, Gaz felt Fluttershy snuggle into him as he became still, resting her head on his shoulder. Her warmth made Gaz feel snug and he decided to close his eyes, however his mind began to wander and sleep never came...

He lay there, turning over the previous days events over in his head. Gaz had finally had to spill the beans over his situation. Well, not _all_ the beans, there was still some floating at the bottom of the metaphorical pot. Namely the fact that everything here is a cartoon show where he comes from! Gaz sighed, silently thanking the powers that be for sparing him of that ordeal. He could Fluttershy's steady breathing against his shoulder, that made another question spring into his head, Gaz opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. If he _did _find out what on earth, or Equestria for that matter, brought him here, he'd have a very important decision to make.

"Do I even want to go home?..." Gaz murmured to himself.

His world was full of hate and wrongdoing, and even if this world was, for lack of a better word, _perfect_. Gaz could not stay here, he did not belong here. The divine beings (If they even exist) that shape the fabric of reality placed Gaz on Earth as a Human. If he'd learnt anything from cheesy Sci-Fi films, it was that messing with the natural order of things would have disastrous consequences. Or do they? Of course, Gaz did not have any idea whether those ideals held any water, as they were pure works of fiction. He felt a small tear run down his cheek at the prospect at never seeing home again, Gaz had kept a sense of false optimism just to get him through the day, however it was harder to keep up now than ever.

Gaz shuffled into a slightly more comfortable position, inadvertently waking Fluttershy from her slumber. She looked up at him, and for a split-second was shocked to see him next to her. However that feeling left as quickly as it came. Fluttershy smiled at him, and shifted slightly so she was at his level.

"'Sup," Gaz said nonchalantly, "Sleep well?"

"Yes..." Fluttershy's expression dropped when she noticed Gaz's neutral one. "What's wrong?"

Gaz sighed, "Even after everything, my addiction, the huge bombshell that I'm not originally a Pony..." He trailed off, not needing to say any more in his opinion. "Why me?"

"Gareth... You, shouldn't put yourself down like that..." Fluttershy looked at him solemnly, "You, you are... Different than anypony I've met... You didn't find my... Shyness strange, and you were very polite... You just seemed...Genuine compared to other Stallions..."

Gaz chuckled at the irony of that last statement, lying about your past while still being considered genuine? He deserved a medal.

"...And..." Gaz found his throat was awfully dry this morning, "And you're sure that, what happened last night, outside, wasn't a mistake?..."

Fluttershy felt stumped at this question, in _her _mind it didn't feel like a mistake. But Gaz? It seemed he needed reassured... Was he insecure about something? Being rejected? Being led on? Fluttershy didn't dwell on these matters, instead she alleviated his worries in the only way she knew how.

Fluttershy kissed him, for the second time, this time more intently than the last. Gaz's eyes shot open, his brain however did not shut down as it did last time she kissed him. Gaz wrapped his arms around Fluttershy as they embraced one another, they pulled away after a few moments. Fluttershy's face had a grin similar to when she thought she had ticked Philomena into taking medicine when she hid it in the bowl food, a method that had never failed, until then of course.

"...Do you still think it was a mistake?.."

Gaz smiled at her, this was a side of Fluttershy that nopony had _ever_ seen, let alone thought possible. She turned over and climbed out of the bed, Gaz followed suit and helped brush the covers down. Gaz walked over to his satchel over on the night stand, he inspected inside it. Everything was still there, well apart from his Iphone, which had been left downstairs. He turned around to see Fluttershy looking at him, a worried look on her face.

"Um... Gaz..." She paused, acting assertive was not her strong suit. "I, I would like it if... If you stopped using those cigarettes... I'm not forcing you! It's just..."

Gaz looked at the floor, cursing himself for even _hinting _at the fact that his habit could kill. He had played 'cold turkey' before and it was not a pleasant experience. Gaz looked back up at Fluttershy, she scuffed her hoof on the floor and looked at him nervously. Almost as if he was about to start screaming at the thought of giving up, obviously this was not the case however.

"Fluttershy, I understand..." Gaz swallowed, "I... I'll try, I'll try and stop."

She smiled at him, a silent thank you present in her expression. Gaz watched her leave before turning and throwing on his satchel, he sighed. He walked over and inspected outside. Celestia's star was slowly but surely crossing the horizon, constantly reminding him that he would most likely be meeting the sun Princess some time today. Gaz figured that Celestia would probably arrive in an instant of getting Twilight's letter, as she would probably word it like Gaz was a monster. He hung his head remembering the friendship between the rest of the Mane 6 he'd lost yesterday, the bonds which he'd made over the last couple of days were quickly broken by one technological device from another world.

_Damn you Apple, damn you and your products... _He thought jokingly.

Looking back outside, Gaz judged from the position of the sun that it was early morning, he watched a pair of birds fly around each other. Tweeting happily, they circled around one another before taking off into the sky. Gaz had to hand it to Fluttershy, for someone who lived alone and looked after a _lot_ of animals, she seemed to cope well. He looked at the dew on the grass and remarked to himself that probably nopony, would be awake at this hour.

How wrong Gaz was.

* * *

><p>Over on the far side of Ponyville, stood a huge tree which had been re-purposed as the town's Library. It was managed and occupied by Twilight Sparkle and her trusty assistant Spike. Currently Twilight was musing over a letter she had written the night before; concerning Gaz, his predicament and Fluttershy. She skimmed through the letter, briefly pausing at the ends of sentences to re-read them to see if they were grammatically correct. Nothing but the best for the Princess.<p>

… _His world seems unruly and dangerous, I honestly fear for my friends safety around this creature now that I know the truth. Fluttershy especially, as it seems they are, 'close', for lack of a better term..._

Twilight scowled at how she seemingly cast Gaz in a bad light, however it was true. She _did_ fear for her friends safety now, even though he had given his word that he was a good "person". (Twilight would perhaps quiz him on that word.) But still, for someone who was seemingly ripped from his own dimension and placed in this one in another body, he had coped rather well, _too _well. Twilight's stomach growled, the first thing she'd done after getting up, washing, and sneaking past her sleeping assistant was inspect this letter. As such she had not gotten anything to eat.

Twilight cast her thoughts back to last night as she rolled the letter up with her magic, sealing it with wax. Applejack had not taken Gaz's lying, she had expressed her disgust at how "Somepony could just lie like that." Twilight _had _reminded her that he was, technically an alien, and he was most likely afraid of the consequences of being caught. That set Rainbow Dash off.

"_That's the worst part! Did you see what they were... Doing when we came out?" Rainbow Dash gagged, "It wouldn't be as bad if he was ACTUALLY a Pony, and not a Hyoo-man or whatever..."_

"_Rainbow! You should be happy for Fluttershy..." Rarity interjected, "It's about time the poor dear found somepony... I think Gareth is a Gentle colt even if he ISN'T a Pony!"_

Rarity had defended the Fluttershy and Gaz pairing until the end, more so out defence for her friend, rather than the actual relationship that seemed to have blossomed between the two. It was at that moment Twilight heard the stairs behind her creak, she turned to see her faithful assistant Spike trudge down the stairs. He yawned, wiping sleep from his eyes before speaking.

"Oh, Twilight, up early again..." Spike yawned again, "You want some breakfast?"

Twilight smiled, he sure was her 'Number 1 assistant'!

"Yes please Spike, but first, I need you to send this letter to Princess Celestia." Twilight levitated the scroll over to him.

Spike plucked the scroll from the air, he turned it over in his hands to see that it was still sealed. He was about to summon the magical fire to send the letter off before he paused, he clutched the scroll as he looked to Twilight expectantly.

"What's this one about? It can't be another Friendship Lesson..." Spike inspected the scroll once more.

"No Spike, it's... about our new friend, Gareth."

"Oh, Gaz?" Spike remembered him from the party not too long ago, "He seemed like a cool guy to talk to, it was a refreshing change from all the girly stuff... Erm, sorry Twilight!"

Twilight's face relaxed from it's stern expression as he held the scroll up diligently between his thumb and forefinger before blowing his magical flames over the scroll. It was seemingly incinerated instantly, however Twilight and Spike both knew that in a matter of moments it would soon be in the possession of the Princess of the Sun. As Spike turned towards to the kitchen and motioned for Twilight to follow, she felt a pang of guilt. Twilight had sent what had been a near damning letter about somepony who was merely just misunderstood. Twilight suddenly didn't feel like eating any more.

Twilight had just sat down at the table when an almighty crash came from the main room of the library, she leapt to her hooves and galloped into the main room, Spike practically at her 'heels'. They couldn't help but gasp at what they saw. Princess Celestia had teleported into main room, leaving a set of scorch marks around the room, obviously the pure amount of energy needed to transport the Alicorn was so great that it burnt the area around the spell. Celestia's eyes burned like the very sun she rose day in day out when she gazed at her student. Twilight was amazed that even in anger, Celestia kept a noble and wise air about her.

"Twilight? Spike?" She seemed to calm herself a little, "I see you're alright... Thank the heavens..."

"Y-Yes Princess!" Twilight's brain functioned again and she and Spike bowed, "What made you think we weren't?"

The Princess sighed, sat down and massaged her temples with her hooves.

"Twilight, it's best you sat down, it's time I told you about one of the best kept secrets in Equestria... Until now of course."

"It's time I told you about my _previous _encounter with Mankind..."

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, I'm on a role here!<strong>

**I feel this is a better style for the chapters, not short and sweet, but not long and droning. HOWEVER! I promise that one day I will produce a _full_ chapter! (IE: 8,000 words, this one is 3,171)**

**And those wanting to see Charlie-Three-One and the (as of yet unexplained) Darkness, fret not, for they will have some attention soon...**

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**God Bless**

**~TRW**


	12. Bad Company

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 12**

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><p><strong>AN: Life on Mars has broke the 15,000 hits mark! It's also had over 40 faves and 91 reviews! (At time of writing)**

**Seriously, you guys and gals, you make writing this a joy. Honestly I cannot express in text how happy I feel when I see I have a review or that it's someone's favourite story! Thank you ever so much. It really means a lot to me.**

**Enough rambling, on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Equestria – Everfree Forest <em>(1 hour earlier)<em>

"All right gentlemen, gather round..."

Seeker stood with his arms folded watched Charlie-Three-One slowly suited up, he tapped his foot on the floor impatiently as they finished sealing their helmets on, their faces hidden behind polarised visors. Ulysses sat himself on a small camping stool, his hands rested calmly on his lap. His SRS rifle was slung on his back, and his P226 was strapped to his chest, cocked and ready to fire. Bulldog had lain his MG36 down on the ground carefully, while he strapped the Bowie knife to his waist. Psycho had spent the night disassembling his Saiga-12 and VBR and cleaning them; he currently rested against a tree to Seeker's right.

"It's day 1 of 2." Seeker started, "We're going to do some reconnaissance on the local area, we'll spilt up in teams of two. Ulysses, you go with Bulldog. Psycho you're with me."

"Sir, if no one is attending the camp wouldn't that leave it open fore attack?" Ulysses asked.

"That's why I'm making you two take a sweep of the area around the camp, and why I'm having Bulldog keep the AST up and running."

"Yes, if we keep the AST running, no creatures native to this dimension will be able to enter the enclosure, I've hidden it just in case too." Bulldog added, swiping up his MG36.

"Exactly," Seeker cleared his throat, "Now, remain in radio contact but keep it to a minimum, we don't want any unwanted attention..."

"What about engagements?" Psycho inquired.

"You heard Horowitz, only if they attack first," Seeker hefted his F2000, "Okay Charlie-Three-One... Move out!"

The men dispersed, two heading to the east seemingly deeper into the forest, while the other two headed west. Bulldog came over the radio briefly just after they departed.

"Hey Seeker, you read me?"

Seeker stopped and brought the radio up to his 'mouth', a small speaker on the front of the helmet. This technology had it's roots in the speaker system for the M50 series of Gas Masks developed for the US army. Basically a small amplifier would project the users voice so that it wouldn't be muffled by the mask, it was only issued to NCOs though, probably so they could bark out orders and not have anyone to question them. Still, the tech worked great with their suits, and it was really helpful in some cases, like now.

"Loud and clear, Bulldog." Seeker paused, "I want full radio silence for the next 2 hours, unless it's an emergency of course."

"Roger that, Bulldog out."

Seeker looked at Psycho, who had stopped slightly ahead of him. He held his Saiga-12 on it's side and was inspecting the bolt on it's right hand side. Noticing that Seeker was finished, Psycho turned about face and walked off in a westerly direction. Seeker strode alongside him, pushing the occasional branch out of his way, a few moments passed before Psycho broke the silence.

"What's your real name?" He asked, his eyes still fixed straight ahead.

"Pardon?" Seeker was caught by surprise at the sudden question.

"Your name, what is it?" Psycho paused, _trying_ to be nice, "Mines Aaron Knight."

"Jason Cooper," Seeker smiled behind his helmet, perhaps Psycho wasn't so bad after all.

Seeker's estimation was wrong however, as it turns out Psycho is _not_ good company at all. Seeker sighed and pulled his Interceptor body armour forward for comfort. Psycho has not said a word since their previous conversation, and even then it wasn't much. His Saiga-12 seemed to be permanently aimed at the tree line ahead of them, while Seeker let his F2000 hang by the strap, seemingly at ease. Seeker was right to be at ease, as all the creatures they had seen, small birds and rodents, had fled at the sight of them. Seeker noticed that the tree line was thinning out, hopefully indicating that they were near the edge of the forest. That was when Seeker spotted the dirt road to his right.

He raised an arm and stopped Psycho, who looked where Seeker was pointed. The road, while not paved, still looked well travelled. That meant that some form of civilisation existed in this dimension, where they humans? Seeker was doubtful, where they hostile? _That_ was a better question. Psycho and Seeker crouch-walked up to the road, both had their weapons at the ready now. Psycho pointed to some tracks that were on the road, Seeker peered at them, they were hoof prints, going up and down the road. This was promising.

"There is civilisation here, but it seems they're not even past the industrial age yet..." Seeker mused.

The two mercenaries looked at each other, after a brief moment of staring, Seeker sighed and stepped out onto the road. After inspecting their surroundings, Seeker motioned for Psycho when it seemed safe. As he moved up by the sergeant, he looked up at the position of the sun.

"We need to move that way to keep heading west." He indicated down the road

"Lead the way, I'll cover your six." Seeker patted him on the shoulder.

Psycho grumbled something about 'Donkeys leading Lions' before trudging off down the road, Seeker close on his heels, as they both constantly checked for attackers. They had to be extra careful now, something as simple as a small tear in the suit would spell the end for either of them, Seeker regarded it as a fate worse than death, with death at least there's a body to bury.

A mixture of dirt and gravel crunched under their boots as they marched down the road. That was short lived however as the forest seemingly 'stopped' and the tree-line gave way to a lush green field. They dipped off the road and quickly jogged towards a steep hill, the two men threw themselves to their bellies and waited.

"Do you think anyone say us?" Psycho asked.

"I don't know," Seeker started to crawl forward, "Let's get a look over the ridge shall we?"

They crawled up the ridge, the only sound being the rustle of their suits. If one was looking at the hill from the other side you would see two black orbs rise over the crest of the hill. The two men recoiled in surprise at what they saw. A town was in the distance, it's residents seemingly unaware of the intruders in their realm. Psycho eyed the town through a pair of binoculars awkwardly placed against his helmet where his eyes would be, he lowered them shaking his head, before raising the binoculars again.

"Boss... You're... You need to see this..." He held the binoculars out to Seeker.

Grasping the binoculars, Seeker raised them to his eye level and pressed it against his helmet. He had to squint to focus on the zoomed image but what he saw astounded him.

Horses, they whole damned town was full of Horses!

Seeker would've thought that the animals were allowed to roam free, and that their owners were nearby. However, these Horses were of different colours, and, much to Seeker's surprise, were performing various human tasks with little to no effort. He focused his attention on a orang Horse setting up a stand in town, a smaller yellow Horse was helping it, but it was what was on the orange Horses' head which left Seeker baffled. A _Cowboy hat_ sat upon it's head, if there was ever such a thing such as bitter-sweet irony it was that.

"God-damn..." Seeker handed the binoculars back to his comrade, "Where the hell have we eneded up?"

"Christ, I feel like I'm going to get diabetes by just _looking_ at the place, got any Insulin, boss?" Psycho joked.

He was right, the world was too saturated for Seeker's liking. Every colour was as vibrant as possible and the whole area seemed to radiate that of a children's story book. The... 'Residents' of the town looked peaceful, but of course looks can be deceiving. Seeker mused at how the town was a mix of Medieval and post-modern style of architecture, he briefly wondered if there was any form of government, and more importantly, any military.

Seeker slid back down the hill, he and Psycho wordlessly made their way back to camp. This was going to take a _lot_ of explaining.

* * *

><p>Earth – London <em>(10 Months ago)<em>

"_... Then of course I told him to fuck off, but the little bastard kept coming back."_

_The group chortled at Chris' story, Gaz took another swig of his beer as he looked around. He loved parties, he loved house parties even more, he enjoyed how the consumption of alcohol broke down social barriers people had erected over time, even forming new friendships in one night. Gaz looked over his shoulder at the rest of the party, smiling to himself as he saw Josh trying to chat a girl up, with little success. He turned his attention back to Chris' story; which was about someone he didn't like and thought was strange. As mean Gaz thought that kind of behaviour was, he had to admit, it was funny._

"_...He's using his laptop in the library, and I look over his shoulder expecting to see coursework or summit..."_

"_What did you see?" Reece spoke up, who was stood next to Gaz._

"_D'you remember that My Little Pony thing? That for little girls?..."_

"_No!" Gaz couldn't help but voice everyone's amusement._

"_Yeah, he was watching that! He turned bright red and pegged it!"_

_Everyone laughed at the climax of Chris' story, Gaz took another swig in-between laughs, he frowned when the bottle turned out to be empty. He left the group to dispose of this one and get another, leaving the laughter and music behind him. He weaved his way through the crowd into the kitchen, nodding at a few people who called his name. The party wasn't a special occasion, the house was simply empty for a couple of days so Grant, who lived here, decided to throw a party._

_For some reason, Gaz decided to dump the bottle in the recycling, he knew it would be easier to simply put it on a table and leave it but instead he stepped outside and dumped it in the bin outside._

"_Hey Mason!"_

_Gaz looked up to see a group of three lads all stood in a circle, he walked up to them, greeting them with a nod._

"_'Sup Rob?"_

"_Hey Gaz man, you wanna join us for a fag, mate?" He asked, holding out one._

_Gaz paused, normally he would say no, but... Something was different today, he wanted to try something new, and as he stared at the cigarette held out to him... He just took it._

"_Aye... Go on then," Gaz couldn't help but smile when the group of lads smiled at him, "You're gonna have to educate me though..."_

"_Christ, you never done this before? Better late than never I guess..." Tom, a dark haired boy on Gaz's left laughed, "Here light it first."_

_Tom withdrew a lighter, handing it to Gaz, it was a Zippo, there was no mistaking that. Gaz held the silver lighter for a moment, admiring the craftsmanship in it, before opening it with his thumb, producing a satisfying *click*. He thumbed the spark wheel and held the flame up to the cigarette he now held in his mouth, he sucked on it as he lit it, before closing the Zippo and handing it back to Tom._

"_Right, now inhale the smoke, then blow it out." Rob demonstrated._

_Gaz removed the cigarette from his mouth and took a deep breath, he coughed heavily, almost dropping the cigarette in the process and earning laughs from the smokers. Once he regained his composure, he felt... Spaced out? Weird?... Amazing?_

"_W-wow," Gaz coughed a little, "That's actually, really good..."_

"_Haha, Marlboro Reds, Gareth!" Rob showed the packet to him, "The best of the best!"_

_2 days later, Gaz bought his first pack of cigarettes, 2 weeks passed by before he regularly met with the smokers before the beginning of Uni to have a quick smoke. 4 weeks? He purchased his own Zippo, after seeing a brass 1941 replica in the window of a tobacconist. 6 weeks he was well and truly addicted, needing at least 2 minimum to stave off his cravings. Gaz hated himself for it, but at the same time, was pleased at how it broke down the boundaries between him and other people. The simple request of "Anyone got a lighter?" is a great way to meet new people._

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Ponyville (Present Day)<span>

Gaz walked with Fluttershy through Ponyville, they had decided that the best course of action was to seek out Twilight Sparkle (who would most likely be in the library) and talk with her about the letter she will send to the Princess' about Gaz, and his... 'Situation'. Perhaps they could talk her out of sending a potentially damming letter? Who knows, Gaz just hoped that Celestia and Luna were as nice as they were in the TV show.

It was roughly 7:30am as they moved through the streets, Gaz was actually surprised that some Ponies were up and about, setting up stands or starting various jobs. He saw various Ponies that he recognised too, Lyra, Bonbon. Gaz even saw Doctor Whooves, he did a double take at the Stallion as he walked on by, almost expecting him to produce a Fez from hammer space and withdraw into a blue Police box. Gaz chuckled slightly at the reference, he frowned again however as he remembered his fate.

The Library stood tall and proud, a landmark in Ponyville. It's huge oak door was closed, and a 'closed' sign hung from a nearby porthole window. Numerous little windows dotted the tree's trunk, stretching up to just underneath the canopy of leaves. Gaz actually contemplated whether the Tree was alive or not, judging by the colour of the leaves however, he came to the conclusion that it was kept alive by some form of magic. The laws of nature would not allow a tree to be carved out and survive, of course this was Equestria, a magical story book land that was fiction to Gaz until a couple of days ago. But still, there must be some sense of order.

The two Ponies reached the front door, Fluttershy looked over at Gaz and indicated for him to knok. He raised a hoof, but hesitated. Gaz turned away from the door and stamped a hoof.

"I-I can't do it..." He was pretty flustered, "I'm too nervous, what if she questions me again?"

"Gareth..." Fluttershy walked up to him, a soft smile on her face, "Twilight is the most understanding Pony you'll ever meet... You can do this!..."

Gaz looked at Fluttershy, a sense of confidence was in her eyes. It was joined with the sense that she believed in him. Gaz let out a -heh- before turning round and raising his hoof and rapping on the door three times. There was a short pause as Gaz uttered a silent "thanks" to Fluttershy, she only smiled back at him. The door opened with an aura of purple magic, and the accompaniment of Twilight shouting "Come in!"

Fluttershy went first, Gaz closed the door behind him. There was a shout of "In the kitchen!" from Twilight, indicating her position. As they turned and walked across the room, Gaz noticed scorch marks littered the walls and floor. What on Earth, on Equestria could have done this? Was there a fire? No, Ponyville wouldn't be this calm if there was a fire, plus there would be damage to the property and-.

"Oh, hello Fluttershy!" His train of thought was interrupted by Twilight. "I wasn't expecting you at-."

She stopped when Gaz walked into the room. Gaz didn't understand until he saw what, or rather _who_ was sat opposite Twilight and Spike at the other end of the table, enjoying a nice cup of tea. Princess Celestia herself, in the flesh. Fluttershy had already dropped into a bow, but Gaz was locked in place, unable to move. He'd never expected her to be so... Imposing! Standing nearly over twice the height of anyone in the room and radiating pure solar energy, Celestia was a sight to behold. However, her gaze was not one of benevolence or kindness, this... It was a gaze of scorn, similar to what she'd given Discord when he was taunting her in the stain glass windows of her own Castle. Gaz could only utter two words.

"Oh shit..."

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><p>"<strong>Oh shit" indeed!<strong>

**To clarify, "Life on Mars" takes place _after _"Luna Eclipsed" but _before _"The Sisterhooves Special". I know I started this before Season 2 ever aired, but I want to incorporate some _elements_ from it into my story.**

**Also, I am in the process of re-writing chapters 1 to 5 so expect an update chapter once I eventually finish them.**

**Finally, if this chapter seems rushed in anyway I apologise. (although it _is _my longest chapter to date...) Why? Well, let's just say that I wanted to get this out this week so my schedule is free for the weekend. _*cough*_SKYRIM_*cough*_**

"_**Dovahkiin Dovahkiin  
>Naal ok zin los vahriin<br>Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal  
>Ahrk fin norok paal graan<br>Fod nust hon zindro zaan  
>Dovahkiin Fah hin kogaan mu draal !"<strong>_

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	13. Incarceration

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 13**

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><p><strong>AN: LoM has broken the 100 review barrier! Thank you ever so much, I couldn't have done it without you!**

**No seriously, I couldn't.**

**Anyway on with the show!**

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><p><span>Equestria - Canterlot - Unknown Location<span>

Gaz finally woke up.

He rolled over on the floor, groaning as he did so, a sharp pain on the right side of his ribs causing the outburst. Gaz had kept his eyes shut, not wanting to look at the world around him. The surface he was on was _frightfully _cold, and he could hear the dripping of water from inside the room he was in. Gaz squeezed his eyes shut as he shakily stood up, emitting satisfying pops from his joints and at the same time causing the pain in his ribs to flare up once more. Gaz racked his brain as his eyes darted behind his eyelids searching for an answer in the darkness. The last few moments he could remember where... Sketchy at best. He remembered Princess Celestia baring down on him, and Fluttershy letting out a 'meep' before darting behind Twilight and Spike. Taking a deep breath, which caused him to wince as his ribs ached, he opened his eyes, revealing his location.

Total darkness greeted Gaz, he panicked, aimlessly stumbling around the room. He like many other people, cherished his eyesight. Gaz found a wall and pressed against it, his chest heaving back and forth. He began muttering to himself, repeating "No" over and over again as if by some miracle it would grant him sight. Then, the darkness shifted to a deep blue, Gaz sighed, his eyesight was merely adjusting to the dark. He mentally scolded himself for acting so foolish, but, to be fair, he was in a tight spot right now, he had no idea where he was. However, his eyesight finally showed the room in it's true 'light' (or rather lack of one) to Gaz.

He was in a Cell.

"Fan-fucking-tastic..." Gaz paused, an uneasy sensation rising in his stomach and up to his mouth.

_Is that? Oh for the love of-"_

Gaz's train of thought was lost as he was violently sick on the floor, the bile burning the back of his throat. He coughed, grimacing at the puddle of stomach acid and the collection of meals he had had other the last few days. Whatever had happened to him had certainly hit him, _hard_. Gaz resorted to wiping his hoof across his mouth, he inspected his limb, and was pleased to see that his mouth was clean after all. He spat out the last of the bile before he stepped back and slumped against the wall, trying to ignore the stench of sick.

The room he was in was made out of cobblestone, with a single iron door at the opposite end next to Gaz. No windows, no furniture, nothing but stone. It was almost as if the cell's architects _wanted_ this to be a hellish place. And to be fair, they probably did, this was a _cell_ after all! Gaz fought the oncoming sense of claustrophobia by beginning to whistle a random tune, which echoed loudly in the room, that's when he was struck by a bright idea.

"I should try and get the attention of the guards! There has to be guards!" Gaz exclaimed as he bounded across the room with a new found vigour.

He approached the iron door, he tried the handle out of sheer desperation. No dice. Gaz then executed his 'master plan', he rapped continuously on the door, desperate to get someone, somepony's attention.

"Hello? Anyone the- I mean, anypony there?" Gaz stood up on his hind legs and used both of his 'arms' to rap on the door. "Can anypony here me? I kinda need so-"

The door swung open, which was good, as that meant somepony had heard Gaz's cries for help. However it opened inwards, which was bad, as it caused Gaz to fall backwards and onto his back, narrowly missing the puddle of sick. The light from outside the cell blinded Gaz, he brought his hoof over his eyes to shield them as he shuffled backwards as a Pony strode into the room. Gaz's eyes adjusted once more to the change in brightness, revealing the silhouetted Pony to be one of the Guard. However, instead of the simple gold armour, this one was adorned with silver markings and trim, and a red plume instead of blue sprouted out of his helmet. But what startled Gaz the most was that instead of a crisp white coat of other Guards, this Pony's was pitch black, rivalling the night sky in sheer darkness.

"Well, well well," The Guard snorted, "Looks like the prisoner's finally awake... And seems to have lost his lunch too, hah!"

"Wh-where am I?" Gaz managed to blurt out.

"Oh your in the dungeon, _Alien_" The Guard hissed, "I _know_ about your kind, and what you did, the Princess' hav informed all of the higher-ups about _you_..."

"...But I didn't do anything!" Gaz coughed as left-over bile burnt his throat. "Christ, what the fu-"

Gaz was cut off when the Guard's hoof connected with the left side of his head, knocking him to the right. In his weakened state, Gaz fell to the floor and landed on the right side of his body, causing a vicious shooting pain to course through his chest. The sheer amount of pain in his chest made the hit to the head feel like nothing, Gaz cried out in pain and writhed on the floor as the Guard loomed over him. The guard leaned down, peering at the Pony on the floor, and emitted a bellow that Gunnery Sergeant Hartman would be proud of. If he existed.

"I AM SURESTRIKE, CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD. I REPORT TO NONE-OTHER THAN CELESTIA HERSELF. YOU WILL _NOT_ DISRESPECT ME! OR BY HER MANE I SWEAR, YOU WILL LEAVE THIS ROOM IN A BAG!"

Surestrike paused, before going on the offence yet again.

"THIS IS MY WORLD, YOU DO NOT BELONG IN MY WORLD! YOU ARE A BLIGHT ON EQUESTRIA AND YOU SHOULD RETURN TO THE PRIMORDIAL MUCK WHICH YOU CRAWLED OUT OF!"

Surestrike's chest heaved as he watched the Pony writhe on the floor, he was a pathetic creature. It was clear to Surestrike why Princess Celestia hated his kind, but it was Princess Luna's fear that made the usually steadfast Captain stop and think, how could an immortal being be so afraid of something so... Weak? What sickened him the most about this creature was the fact that it thought it could hide, disguising itself as a Pegasus. Surestrike spat at the 'Pony' in disgust, it was so... Arrogant, it thought it could get away with _invading _his home! Not on Surestrike's watch it won't. He kicked the creature on the floor before speaking, albeit in more hushed tones.

"_You speak a word of this to anypony and I'll buck you so hard, I'll hit you into next week! Got it?"_

He saw the creature weakly nod. This pleased Surestrike, his will was broken, it was only a matter of time before it spilt it's secrets and told them how it got here so the could formulate a defence. It was inevitable that there were more of them out there, and Surestrike wanted Equestria's defences up to full force. Perhaps even launch a counter-attack to the invading world. Some Ponies have commented on Surestrike's approach to national security with many terms: Paranoid, obsessed, dedicated, loyal. Surestrike preferred the term 'cautious', security was of the utmost importance and he didn't become Captain of the Guard by lolly-gagging or slacking in his duties to the crown.

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><p>Surestrike turned about face and marched out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind him. He was about to resume his post at the top of the stairs leading down to the dimly lit corridor he was in when he heard voices accompanied by the clopping of hooves descending the stairwell.<p>

"...Are just through here, ma'am." First to appear at the foot of the stairs was Private Cloud-Walker, a relatively new recruit into the Guard, he only joined in the last couple of months though Surestrike knew that the kid wasn't green as grass. No pony in the guard is. Still, he performed his duties to the best of his ability, and Surestrike reckoned he was going places.

Following him were, at a first glance, the most rag-tag team of Ponies to grace Canterlot Castle. However Surestrike knew that they were really the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and even one of them was Celestia's prized pupil. Prized pupil or not, Surestrike couldn't stand them, _they_ got all the glory and the fame for the defence of Equestria while the Guard played second fiddle to a bunch of Mares. Surestrike longed for a good war, it had been too long since the Guard had had a chance to show off it's _real_ strength.

"Captain Surestrike, sir!" Cloud-Walker snapped a quick salute, "I was just showing the Bearers to our guest. They have permission from the Princesses, sir."

"Ah yes, _it_ is in there," Surestrike unlocked the cell door for them, before ascending the stairs, "Lock up when you are done Private."

"Yes sir!"

Twilight had never seen this part of the Castle before, she had always assumed that Canterlot had no need for a dungeon as Equestria was so stable as a nation. But, to be fair, whenever she visited the Castle she never strayed far from the Royal hall with the Princess, or the Archives. She turned her head to see her friends all in various states of emotion, ranging from fear of the darkness, excitement at the thought of seeing a friend, caution of the cramped space, curiosity of what lay inside , and disgust at the cleanliness of the place. Twilight had made Spike stay behind, much to his disappointment, before she left she thought she heard him mutter something about, "...Never in this story..." or something along those lines, Twilight paid it no heed however, there where more important matters at hand.

"Twilight Sparkle, ma'am." The Guard who was known as 'Cloud-Walker spoke, "The Cell is unlocked, you and your friends are free to go in. However I will be waiting just outside this door, the prisoner is dangerous and I recommend extreme caution."

"Thank you.." Twilight replied, almost in a detached manner as she pushed open the heavy iron door.

The first thing that greeted them was a strong smell of vomit, and the sound of pained sobbing.

The mane 6 rushed into the cell, Twilight's horn glowed purple before she pooled her energy into creating a luminous orb which drifted lazily to the ceiling, illuminating the room. The room was cramped and dirty, there were no windows and no furniture of any kind. A puddle of sick lay just to the right of the doorway, and looked fairly fresh. Though Twilight didn't really want to investigate that. In the centre of the room, Gaz lay unmoving, apart from shuddering in his chest as he breathed in and out. A series of bruises marked his body, more prominent ones on his chest and a large and fairly recent one on his face. His eyes were shut tight, though a steady stream of tears was able to seep through his eyelids.

"Oh my goodness!" Rarity was the first to exclaim, "That awful pile of... Vomit!"

"Rarity! Now is not tha time!" Applejack scolded as she neared Gaz, "Oh, Sugercube..."

Fluttershy took this moment to open her eyes which she had squeezed shut the moment they entered the dungeon, using Rainbow for support as they made their way down the stairs. She let out a small cry when she saw Gaz lying on the floor, she galloped over to him and put her hooves round him, causing Gaz to wince slightly.

"Oh..N-no Gareth, I'm sorry! Th-this is my fault... I-I.." She stammered, giving Gaz the window of opportunity to raise his head.

"It's not you fault... Trust me on this one..." Gaz laughed slightly, causing him to wince once more, "Argh, my ribs... I just want the pain to stop..."

Twilight took that as her cue to prepare some healing magic to alleviate Gaz's suffering. She began by examining him with her magic, trying to discover the extent of his wounds. The two broken ribs was the worst of it, the rest were simply bruises. Twilight charged up her energy before releasing a steady stream on purple magic which encapsulated Gaz in it's aura, Fluttershy backed off as it embraced him. Twilight felt awful, Gaz's condition was _her_ fault, _she_ sent the letter to Princess Celestia and worded it the way she did. Twilight noticed that Gaz's injuries were healed, to the best of her ability, he would still feel a little tender around his chest and head, but apart from that he was fine. Despite Twilight's best efforts, Gaz did not rise off the floor, he merely began to sob silently.

"...I.. I just want to go home..."

That was when the Twilight Sparkle _truly_ realised this Ponies plight. He was trapped in a world, in a foreign body, with nowhere to go or stay. Celestia knew about his existence, so even if he managed to ever escape this prison. He would never find peace, he would be hounded wherever he went, and he would spend his dying days rotting in a cell, or cold afraid and alone. The link between the bearers of the elements is strong; the sudden realisation from Twilight passed over into the others as extreme sadness. Pinkie Pie had stopped smiling long ago, and now displayed a look of solemn grief. Rainbow had gone to Fluttershy's side, trying to comfort her friend. Rarity and Applejack were both helping Gaz to his hooves, propping him up from either side.

"Why would the Princess do this to him!" Rainbow Dash asked, now hugging a sobbing Fluttershy, "The Princess is supposed to be kind and understanding, not a tyrant!"

"It just 'ain't right!" Applejack stomped her hoof, "Ah know what ah said about Gaz, but he 'ain't a bad Pony... Human, whatever!"

Gaz felt a little hurt at that comment.

"You okay Gazzy?" Pinkie asked, some of her usual perkiness coming back into her voice.

"N-no... I'm not..." Gaz shuddered, "Twilight, what happened?.."

Suddenly Twilight was in the spotlight, she felt a little worried all of a sudden.

"Gaz, the Princess hit you with a stun spell soon after you walked in... I've never seen magic that powerful used in such anger before..." Twilight looked down at her hooves, "You practically sailed across the room..."

"...Why... Why would she do that?..." Gaz moped, "That doesn't sound like Celestia at all..."

"We don't know either, darling." Rarity cooed, "Although we're going to get to the bottom of this, right girls?"

There was a collective "Yeah!" from the more enthusiastic members of the group, followed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie storming out of the cell, leaving Twilight, Fluttershy and Gaz behind. Twilight was filled with new-found confidence at her friends vigour, perhaps she could redeem herself for what happened to Gaz. But first...

"Gareth... I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have sent that letter, we should have all sat down and figure out..."

She trailed off, wallowing in her disappointment with herself, that's when Gaz spoke up.

"Twilight, I don't blame you for anything..." He took a sharp intake of breath, his ribs were still sore, "You were right in sending a letter to Celestia... However she's got some explaining to do herself..."

"...Thanks, Gareth." Twilight smiled, she left to follow her friends outside, who where busy arguing with Cloud-Walker.

Gaz shook his head, he felt a bit spaced out but a little better none the less. He turned to Fluttershy, who was looking at him with tears still in her eyes.

"...I'm... So sorry Gaz..." Fluttershy bowed her head, "I'm... I..."

Gaz pulled Fluttershy into a hug, ignoring the protests from his tender ribs. Fluttershy sobbed quietly into his shoulder, Gaz felt some tears creeping up into his vision once more.

"Listen... It isn't your fault..." Gaz croaked, he sniffed, pulling himself together. "You had no idea how the Princess would react, now come on, we better see what they're discussing out there..."

Fluttershy pulled away from Gaz, her eyes still slightly red from crying. A small sincere smile crept up on her face, Gaz felt himself smiling at her too. She leaned in and quickly kissed him on the lips, before pulling away shyly and ambling towards the door, motioning for Gaz to follow. Gaz shook himself back to his senses, he took one last look around the cell, hoping to some unknown deity that he'd never return here, or anypony for that matter. He followed Fluttershy outside to find the rest of the group squaring up to Cloud-Walker, Twilight's face was inches from his and she wore a look of frustration, the whole escapade made Gaz smile in-light of the situation.

"I am the Princess' _prized_ pupil! I demand to see her!" Twilight didn't blink as she spoke.

"Ma'am I respect your wishes, but I would have to get permission from my superiors," Cloud-Walker replied, his usually calm demeanour wavering a little. "Then there are forms to be filled out, background checks to be made. Not to mention the 2 month waiting list..."

"Not good enough!" Applejack joined the fray, "You'll take us to see the Princess, there's no question about it!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash extended her wings in an attempt to intimidate Cloud-Walker. "Or else there'll be trouble!"

Rainbow's intimidation clearly failed as Cloud-Walker went on the offence, "You really think you can take on the Palace Guard? Please, you're just a bunch of Mares..."

That got Rarity riled.

"Listen here, Buster!" She loomed in on him, "We are _not _"just Mares" we are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, we have saved Equestria from both Nightmare Moon _and_ Discord, and various other beasts!"

Gaz quietly shuffled over to Cloud-Walker and whispered in his ear.

"It's probably best if you just let us see Celestia... Unless you feel like putting up with this for another hour or 3?..."

Cloud-Walker got the hint. He turned about face and motioned for the group to follow him.

"Fine, follow me. The Princess is in her chambers, it's not too far from here." Cloud-Walker shook his head when he reached the top of the stairs, "I'll be kicked out the Guard for sure for doing this..."

The Mane 6 and Gaz followed the Private through the Castle halls, stain glass windows reflected streaks of colour across the floor. Each one depicting an ancient and pivotal point in Equestria's history. Gaz was amazed by such intricate work, Cathedrals and Castles back home where impressive but this... This was on a whole other level! The amount of time and effort gone into building this Castle must have been obscene, especially considering it was built _on the side of a mountain!_ Cloud-Walker led the group up a flight of stairs, and down another corridor. Unlike previous ones they had walked through, this one had a Guard at every corner, and a few more patrolled up and down the corridor, fortunately for Gaz, they paid him no heed as they marched towards a set of huge double doors where two Pegasi Guards stood at attention either side of it.

Unlike other Guards, these had pure silver armour which was littered with ornate designs and patterns. Their helmets were full face ones, not even their eyes could be see through the slits. The plume at the top of the helmet was the typical blue, but was laced with silver streaks, symbolising rank. Gaz came to the conclusion that these must be Celestia's elite Guards, as they carried an air of arrogance about them that Gaz had picked up in his brief moment of contact with Captain Surestrike. As they neared, they moved to block the door, their wings fully erect to signify their presence.

"Halt, her Royal Highness wishes to be left alone at this time. Please leave, or we will remove you by force." The Guard on the left spoke, his voice muffled slightly by his helmet.

"Sirs, the Princess has requested the presence of the Bearers of the Elements and the Prisoner at this time," Cloud-Walker lied, "If you have any doubts you can ask Captain Surestrike, he informed me directly."

The elite Guards pondered for a moment, before stepping aside in union, they folded their wings to their bodies.

"Very well, those requested may proceed, however you, Private Cloud-Walker must remain outside."

"I understand, sirs." Cloud-Walker replied, he bowed his head before departing.

The group looked at each other, all sharing knowing glances with one another. They all knew this was it, they had to convince the Princess to help and trust Gaz. This was not going to be easy, Celestia was thousands of years old, she had a wealth of experience over them dealing with negotiations. They steeled themselves, Gaz took to the front of the group and placed his hoof on the door. He looked to the group, they nodded, he knew they were ready, and so was he.

_Let's do this..._

Gaz pushed the heavy door open, and strode into the Princess' chambers.

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><p><strong>Longest chapter yet! They've been getting gradually longer since chapter 7, which is good, hopefully by chapter 15 I'll be able to give you a nice, long chapter.<strong>

**So yeah, Skyrim. GOTY of every year, for all of time. (Until the Elder Scrolls VI!)**

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**God bless**

**~TRW**


	14. Questions & Answers

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 14**

**Okay, sorry for the delay! No time for chat, you've got a story to read.**

**Let's do this!**

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><p>Equestria – Everfree Forest <em>(1 hour earlier)<em>

Charlie-Three-One studied the small creature that they had captured.

"Is this one of those Horses, Seeker?" Bulldog spoke up.

"Sure looks like one of 'em..." Seeker knelt next to the creature, it's bright mint-green coat reminded Seeker of toothpaste. It's mouth was gagged and it's hooves were bound together, it noticed Seeker crouched next to it and stared up with big fearful eyes. This one seemed to be a Unicorn, as indicated by the horn sprouting from it's head, Seeker also noticed what seemed to be a tattoo just above it's hind legs... It seemed to be an instrument of some sort, although Seeker wasn't sure

Ulysses was off to the right, going through the Horses' bag, he looked up at the group before walking over.

"Just some Herbs and some Mushrooms..." He lobbed the bag towards Psycho, who caught it deftly in his off-hand, "Obviously this forest must be ripe with those sort of things."

Seeker stood up stretched. Him and Psycho were halfway back to camp when Bulldog came over the radio informing them that they had a 'visitor', and that they'd been dealt with. Seeker and Psycho had hurried back to camp to find Bulldog securing plastic binds around the Horses' hooves while Ulysses had his P226 aimed at it. Seeker and Psycho had relayed the Intel gathered from their recon on the nearest town, while the Horse squirmed in it's bindings before giving up entirely.

"We should question it." Psycho looked to Seeker, "See what it knows."

Seeker nodded and once again crouched next to the Horse and motioned for Bulldog to remove the gag. The gag was removed and the Horse looked up at Seeker, fear clearly evident in it's eyes.

"You, what's your name?" Seeker started

No response

"What's your name?" He repeated, "Can you understand me?"

"Y-Yes..." The Horse blurted out in a clearly feminine voice, in perfect English. Seeker was taken aback for a moment, he at least expected _some_ kind of language barrier, although at least he was getting somewhere with this impromptu interrogation.

"Good, now what is your name?" Seeker asked once again.

"L-Lyra..." She replied hesitantly.

Lyra' heart was pounding within her chest, she'd just gone out to forage in the outskirts of Everfree Forest, when she was captured by two bipedal creatures. At first, she thought she had been captured by some of the monsters that lurked within the forest, although these creatures seemed to be more that mere beasts. Lyra found _some_ comfort in that fact, perhaps she could reason with them.

"L-look, please! I'll tell you anything... Just d-don't hurt me!" She pleaded.

The members of Charlie-Three-One all paused at that statement

"Well... That was easy!" Bulldog remarked, his grin hidden under his helmet.

Seeker coughed in his throat before sitting cross-legged on the grass, he placed his FN2000 on the ground next to him before looking up at the members of his fire-team.

"I want a perimeter set up," He ordered, "No-one sneaks up on us, understand?"

The men nodded, before taking 'guard duty' nearby.

"Listen," Seeker clicked his fingers to get the Horse's attention, "We're not going to hurt you, we just want informati-"

"Not going to hurt me? Your 'friends' over there bound and gagged me!" Lyra butted in, tears welling up.

"Well... _I'm_ not going to hurt you." Seeker clasped his hands together. "And I won't let my comrades harm you either."

"How can I trust you?" The Horse asked, croaking as tears welled up in her eyes.

"You have my word, I guess that's all I can give you." Seeker replied nonchalantly. "Unlike other mercenaries, I _do_ have a moral code against hurting civvies..."

Before Lyra could ask what on Equestria a "Civvie" was, Seeker raised a hand stopping her.

"First things first, who runs things around here?" Seeker gestured around him. "And I don't mean the forest, the town, due west of here."

"P-Ponyville?" Lyra stammered, "Princess' Celestia and Luna of course! Celestia raises the Sun in the morning and Luna raises the Moon. They are our royal benefactors, our leaders and our-"

"Save me that crap," Seeker spat, "Royal benefactors? So what it's like a Monarchy?"

Lyra was appalled at the rudeness of this creature, but knew better to question it.

"Well... Er... They other threw Discord's rule over 1000 years ago... They've been the rulers ever since, w-well, there was the 'Nightmare Moon incident' but that's been resolved now..."

"Over a 1000 years? Jesus Christ... And they hold _all_ the power? They make the decisions, not a group of people?"

"...Yes?" Lyra responded, unsure at what the creature was getting at.

"Sounds like a fucking Dictatorship to me..." Seeker looked off to the side.

"Now hold on here! How dare you talk about our beloved rulers that way! You don't even-" Lyra stopped in her tracks when the creature looked back at her, her own face reflected off the black surface of it's 'face'. "I-I-I... W-What even is a Dictatorship?..."

Seeker ignored her recent outburst and answered her question, forgetting that _he_ was the one doing the questioning here.

"It's where a single person, or group holds all the power in the nation." Seeker summed it up briefly, "Where I come from that sort of government is frowned upon, usually due to the fact that most Dictators are responsible for crimes against humanity..."

Lyra was mesmerised, this creature, as frighting and potentially dangerous as it was, seemed to be almost... interesting? She wanted to know more about it, so she pressed on with the questioning.

"So... Where, _are _you from?.." She inquired shifting on the ground a little, trying to get into a more comfy position.

Seeker paused, seeing right through her plan. He turned his head towards the Horses, and watched as all confidence she had made in the last few moments vanished in the blink of an eye. Seeker couldn't help himself and chuckled slightly at the sight.

"Gotta hand it to you Horse, You've got guts.."

"Horse? I think you mean Pony.."

Seeker decided he was getting too off topic and went back to 'serious interrogation' mode. He leaned forward, staring intently at the Pony.

"What's this place called? The Country, Continent, Planet." Seeker questioned, "Do you have any form of military?"

"... This is Equestria..." Lyra paused, "Military?..."

"Right no military, that'll make things easier..." Seeker muttered to himself before speaking to the Pony, "Right, your information has been helpful. Thank You."

As Seeker began to get up, Lyra spoke.

"You still haven't answered _my_ question..." She smiled lightly

Seeker sat back down, Horowitz would have his head if he revealed any crucial information about their mission. He'd tell her the non-important stuff, to be fair, she'd be helpful so far.

"I'll give you three questions." He said bluntly. "What do you want to know?"

"W-Well.." Lyra was obviously looking for something to ask. "Well... What's your name?"

"Seeker." The man in question replied almost instantly.

"I get the feeling that's not your real name?..." Lyra asked hesitantly.

"No it's not. You have two more questions."

"You're not going to tell me your real name?"

"No. Last question."

"W-Wait! That wasn't fair!" Lyra stopped herself and thought about her next question.

"I haven't got all day." Seeker crossed his arms.

Lyra shushed him, still pondering over her question. Deep down she was pleased she had managed to get... 'Seeker' to remove his veil of hostility and at least _try_ and have a normal conversation. Which... Considering the circumstances was a pretty big achievement in it's own right. Lyra had decided on her question, and couldn't help but grin to herself at the genius behind it.

"Who are you, _and_ where do you come from?"

_Nice, sneaking two questions into one. _Seeker thought. _Clever girl, two can play at that game._

"I am a Human, and I am from the planet Earth." Seeker replied smugly. He'd managed to foil Lyra plot to get more information out of him by summing up the answers as simply as possible.

"Done questioning the Mule?" Seeker looked up to Psycho stood over them, his Saiga-12 resting on his shoulder, while his off-hand sat on the grip of his VBR-PDW. His presence caused Lyra to retreat into herself, not looking up at the other Human. Seeker stood up and gestured to the Pony.

"She's called Lyra, she's a 'Pony'." Seeker started, "Apparently we're in 'Equestria', where ever that is. It's ruled by, what seems to be, two dictators: 'Princesses Celestia and Luna respectively, it also seems they are responsible for the time of day too."

Psycho slung his Saiga-12 over his shoulder as Seeker relayed the information to him. He nodded from time to time, looking to and fro between his superior and the Pony on the floor. He drew his VBR, inspecting it when Seeker turned and spoke into his radio, telling Bulldog and Ulysses to regroup on him. Psycho flicked the fire-selection switch to 'semi' before marching up to the captured Pony. Lyra watched as the Human marched up to her, fiddling with a strange grey object. She tensed, unsure of what this Human was going to do; 'Seeker' had said that he would stop his "comrades" from hurting her, he would keep his promise. Wouldn't he?...

"..All right, Seeker out." He turned back to see Psycho standing over Lyra, VBR in hand.

_Oh no..._

"Well, let's get this over with." He heard Psycho mutter.

Psycho raised his VBR to the Pony's head. Seeker ran towards Psycho, aiming to push the weapon away from Lyra, no innocent lives were going to die on his watch. Seeker was so close, he could _see_ Psycho's trigger finger tense as he pulled the trigger. Lyra shut her eyes, she could feel it in her bones that this was the end. Seeker was just within striking distance, if he could just get a little...

A loud bang echoed throughout Everfree Forest.

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot – Canterlot Castle (Present time)<span>

The Mane 6 bowed out of habit as the Princess rose to her hooves.

Gaz however did not.

Instead, he marched straight up to the Princess, and looked her straight in the eye. She was... tall, almost intimidating to some. Gaz studied the intense hatred that burned behind Celestia's eyes, it was truly an odd sight, considering in the TV show Celestia is usually shown as the kind benefactor. Gaz heard a couple of gasps from behind him, probably some of the Mane 6 that were shocked at his display of defiance.

"I believe we got off on the wrong foot-er-hoof." Gaz made a weak joke, much to Celestia's annoyance.

"Why have you come here?" Celestia asked, venom apparent in her voice, she didn't even seem to care that Gaz had left his cell.

"Well, actually, I was going to ask you _why_ I am here!" Gaz replied calmly, "That _was_ until you knocked me out for a good hour or two!"

"I did what was necessary, the last time some of your kind came here... You committed such atrocities against Equestria and her Ponies..."

Gaz was taken aback, Humans had been here before? _This _was certainly never mentioned in History when he was a kid.

"Wait, Humans had been here before?" Gaz asked, "And what do you mean by atrocit-"

Gaz didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before the Princess of the Sun rounded on him, fire in her eyes rivalling that of the one she rose day in day out. When she opened her mouth, she seemed to her best 'Royal Canterlot speaking voice'.

"_Your kind, Human, were responsible for two of the worst things that have happened to Equestria in my lifetime._" Celestia loomed over Gaz, "_The creation of the Spirit of Disharmony: Discord. And, the creation of Nightmare Moon!_"

"WHAT?" The Mane 6 cried in audible union, clearly recovered from Gaz's lack of respect towards their leader.

"Wait! Hold on here. You're saying that Humans did that?" Gaz shouted back, "How the _fuck_ could we – Who can't use magic – Do that?"

Celestia turned about face and paced around her chambers, she looked at the Elements of Harmony, the look of shock and disgust on their faces at the sudden revelation. She turned back to the Alien, who was stood stock still, a look of defiance still on his face.

"You may have noticed that most, if not all, sentient creatures in Equestria are incapable of 'evil' thoughts. Your species however practically radiates these thoughts, the "men" and "women" I have encountered no less than twice have been some of the most evil creatures I have laid eyes on. That being said, I do not know how your species created Discord and made my sister be consumed with jealous thoughts, although I _do_ know that it was something to do with the magical properties of our world and the unjust thoughts of your kind."

"And what's worse, is that now, after _all these years_, I thought that you were gone for good. Yet here you stand, disused in the body of one of my subjects, you have some nerve." Celestia's anger had returned in full force. If one looked outside at this point, one would see that the day had suddenly become exceptionally hot. "Further more, you _even took advantage of one of my Pupil's friends!_ Twisting her to your will!"

"No! I don't know why I'm here, in the body of a Pony!" Gaz retorted desperately, "If there's one thing I do know, it's that I _haven't _twisted anyone 'to my will', especially Fluttershy!"

He turned, the Mane 6 were walking up to him. Gaz's eyes flicked between each Pony, he trotted up to them.

"Guys-I mean- Girls. Oh whatever! You have to believe me! I don't know anything about what Celestia is saying! I jus-"

Gaz was stopped when a hoof impacted off his face, making his eyes water at the sheer impact.

"Ya had one chance!" Applejack scowled, "You coulda told us tha truth last nite and we wouldn' be havin' this problem! You sicken me..."

"And how dare you talk to the Princess that way!" Twilight joined in, "I'm starting to agree with her decision on the stun-spell, and part of me is wishing she made it more powerful!"

Gaz turned to the other Ponies, Rarity "Hmmphf'd" him swishing her head to the left and closing her eyes. Gaz turned to the far right towards a hovering Rainbow Dash, she folded her 'arms' and shook her head. Gaz turned to Pinkie just in time to get a raspberry from the party Pony, which probably hurt Gaz the most thus far as an unhappy Pinkie is a rare sight. Gaz finally turned to Fluttershy, who just stared at him, the first signs of tears cropping up in her eyes.

"Fluttershy... Please... You have to believe me..." Gaz pleaded, feeling the onset of tears himself.

"I-I-I can't, Gareth..." Fluttershy hung her head, "I... just can't..."

She turned ran out of the Princess' chambers, closely followed by Rainbow Dash who had been told by Twilight to "make sure she's okay." Gaz sobbed a little, he could feel the Princess' gaze on the back of his head, he whirled around, tears clouding his vision and better judgement.

"Y'KNOW WHAT CELESTIA?" Gaz pointed at her with his hoof. "YOU'VE WON, YOU'VE _FUCKING_ WON, OKAY?"

Gaz exhaled before continuing

"Now I just want to _bloody_ know, WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?" Gaz pounded his hoof on the ground. "Congratulations, you've managed to alienate the only friends I'd made here, _and_ the only girl I've ever had feelings for! Now do me a fucking favour and answer my question: _Why. Did. You. Bring. Me. Here?_"

Celestia had been listening, but was surprised at the Humans show of pure emotion. In her experiences Humans had always been hardy creatures, not necessarily needing companionship or love, instead relying on basic instinct. It was clear that this one was different.

"In answer to your question, Human, I know not how you were brought here, as it was not I who did so." Celestia dead panned, "There is an aura of magical residue that surrounds you but it is not my own, although it seems familiar..."

"That is because it is mine."

Everypony turned to see Princess Luna stood in the doorway to Celestia's chambers, her long billowing mane rivalling the very stars she coated the night sky with. The Princess of the Night walked into the room, what was left of the Mane 6 bowing as she passed. She smiled at Gaz, who returned a look of bewilderment.

"Y-You... brought me here?"

"Yes, and it seems I got here a little to late, judging by the look in your eyes."

The younger Princess stepped next to her baffled sister and took a deep breath.

"Allow me to explain..."

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Everfree Forest<span>

The VBR is a PDW, a personal defence weapon, usually these are employed as last ditch survival tools as they are not renowned for their accuracy. That combined with the act of a fully grown man impacting into your side makes aiming at a relatively small target difficult. Psycho was thrown to the floor when Seeker smashed into the side of him, the VBR's shot going wide and impacting in the dirt, while Lyra lay curled up into a ball. Psycho looked up from the floor as Seeker stood over him, he growled and reached for his Saiga-12, he grasped it off his back and aimed it at Seeker.

"What are you doing?" Psycho raved.

"I think I should be asking the same thing!" Seeker shouted, "We don't execute Civvies!"

"She knows too much!" Psycho retorted, "I overheard her asking _you_ questions! You've gone soft, Seeker!"

"Don't you fucking question me, Psycho." Seeker spat behind his helmet, "Whatever happened to the 'Don't engage unless openly hostile' policy?"

At that, a large boom sounded through the forest, followed by another, and then another. It was a steady pace of cracks. Seeker knew what was happening straight away, he turned away from Psycho who was getting up shaking his head. Seeker was just in time to see Ulysses and Bulldog burst from the trees, panting and clearly out of breath.

"Ulysses! What's going on? Report!" Seeker yelled.

"We've got contacts!" Ulysses responded, Bulldog mounted his bi-pod on a nearby rock.

At that precise moment, a dark object burst from the trees, screaming and howling, it was at least the size of anyone in Charlie-Three-One. It had the proportions of a Human, two arms and legs, and two glowing yellow eyes. But that is where the similarities ended, the being seemed to be composed of _pure _shadow, almost drawing in light to itself. Bulldog opened fire with his MG36 and watched as the steady stream of 5.56mm rounds tore through the being's body, it collapsed to the floor just as two more of it's kind jumped through the brush, followed by another 4.

"Seeker! Get the damn Horse outta here!" Psycho yelled over Ulysses' and Bulldog's gunfire.

"No, I'm staying!" Seeker shouted back, snatching his FN2000 off the floor.

"No! You will fucking go! You here me?" Psycho turned and double-tapped his Saiga-12, blasting one of the creatures arms off. "Just go! Get her to the town! We've got your back!"

Seeker nodded and ran over to Lyra, who was curled up crying at the chaos around her. Seeker knelt next to her and nudged her, causing her too look up to him, her eyes red due to the tears.

"Listen to me, I'm getting you out of here, understand?" Seeker shouldered his FN2000 when she nodded.

He scooped her up and held her close to his chest as he ran west-ward, away from the raging fight behind him. Lyra buried her head into his shoulder, shutting herself away from the outside world. Seeker could feel her shaking as he sprinted through the forest, leaping over logs and retracing the route he had taken towards the town he had taken earlier today.

_God-speed Charlie-Three-One..._

* * *

><p><strong>Run, Seeker, Run!<strong>

**So yeah, sorry for the wait. Juggling this story and other written projects is harder than it looks, which is insanely hard because I don't know how to juggle!**

**Yay slightly longer chapters! [Record: 3486 - Chapter 14]**

**[Lyra is now known as Heartstrings officially, however I have decided to stick with the 'fan-on' term as it is the one which people are more familiar with.]**

**So yeah... Thanks for everything guys, reviews etc. I know I keep saying this but I cannot express how _thankful_ I am!**

**Remember to R&R and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Love you all.**

**~TRW**


	15. Inter species relations 101

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 15**

**Right, this is a Seeker/ Lyra only chapter, so those wanting an explanation from Luna can bugger off. (Just kidding, next chapter everything will be explained, I promise.)**

* * *

><p>The rattle of 5.56mm rounds from Bulldog's MG36 echoed alongside the crack of Ulysses' SRS rifle and the thud of Psycho's Saiga-12. Seeker had scooped Lyra up in his arms and had fled the scene, his FN2000 swinging by the strap and smacking against his thigh. Seeker could feel the Pony in his grasp quake with fear at the situation around her. The sounds drew distant as Seeker pounded his way through the forest, his breath ragged and stamina drained. Over the sound of his heart-beat in his ears, he could hear his squad scream over the radio.<p>

"_Bulldog watch you six!"_ The sound of a shot accompanied Ulysses' shout.

"_Fuck, how much can they take?" _Bulldog had yelled to no-one in particular.

"_You mother-fuckers!" _Psycho taunted, _"You picked the wrong day to mess with the Three-One!"_

"_Cover me, I'm reloading!" _Bulldog's cry came over the radio.

"_There's too many!" _Ulysses chimed in.

"_Fucking hold them off!"_ Psycho ordered, _"Give Seeker and the Horse time to get outta here!"_

"_I've got some on my flank, gonna need a ha-argh! I'm down!" _Bulldog's MG36 stopped firing.

"_Bulldog! Ulysses get over there and help him!"_

"_On it!" _Ulysses screamed in pain, _I'm hit!" _Ulysses' SRS no longer retorted through the forest.

"_Shit..."_

All communications ceased, the thump of Psycho's lone Saiga-12 continued for a short while before dying out completely. Disheartened and drained, Seeker took this opportunity to let fatigue claim him and let his legs collapse from under him, sending Lyra to floor with him. He lay there for a moment pondering the fate of the men under his command, while he wasn't on first name basis with them, he still cared to some degree. Looking up from his position on the ground, Seeker saw Lyra writhe on the floor, trying in vain to shrug off her bindings. Seeker cursed himself about forgetting about her as he crawled over to Lyra. She looked up at him weakly, and wordlessly asked him something.

"Yeah... I-I think we made it..." Seeker withdrew his knife, "Here, let me get the bindings off you..."

Lyra shrank away from the knife, but after some coaxing by Seeker, allowed him to saw away at the plastic bindings around her hooves. A few moments later, the bindings where off, Seeker sheathed his knife as Lyra stood up on her hooves. Seeker withdrew his FN2000 from his sitting position and clicked the safety 'off', he scanned the tree-line where he had just ran from: nothing. Seeker turned his head to Lyra, who was stretching her joints after being tied up for so long.

"What the hell where those things?" He asked.

"I-I... I don't know," Lyra shook her head, "I've never seen anything like them before... We need to tell Princess Celestia!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here..." Seeker began to stand up, "Are you hurt?"

"No... No I'm not.." Lyra looked off to the side a little, "Th-Thanks for rescuing me..."

"Don't sweat it, I'm not letting an innocent... 'Pony', die on my watch." Seeker dead panned. "Which way is it to Ponyv-"

Seeker's question was interrupted by an otherworldly scream, he forced himself into a crouched position and shouldered his rifle. Another scream followed the previous one shortly after, and this one was accompanied by the rustling of bushes from where they had just ran from. He quickly stole a glance at Lyra, who was sat wide-eyed with fear, Seeker shouted for her to get behind him, motioning with his hand. She complied, and ran behind him just as one of the creatures from before burst through the tree line.

Seeker didn't even hesitate, he squeezed the trigger, letting out a stream of bullets. The rattle of gunfire accompanied the creature's screams at it was pelted with bullets. The FN2000's high rate of fire caused it to buck into Seeker's shoulder, causing him to stray off target as the recoil pushed his aim upwards. Fortunately for Seeker, his adjusted aim caused a vast majority of his 5.56mm rounds to impact the creatures head, causing it to crash into the ground. Seeker jumped up and moved towards the creature, circling it, he put two rounds into the creature's skull just to be sure. Seeker brought his hand back to the rear of the gun and thumbed the mag release, expending the relatively empty magazine. He deposited the old magazine in his dump-pouch before drawing a new one from his vest and sliding it into place in the FN2000.

"That's for the Three-One..." He muttered.

Now that it was deceased, Seeker could get a better look and the creature. It was roughly the same size as him height wise, but was unnaturally skinny, it's long spindly limbs where hideously disproportioned, as it's left 'arm' seemed to be longer than it's right. Seeker could best describe it as a horrific parody of the human form, the basic concept was there, but it was shoddy and chaotic. What Seeker found the most disturbing was the way it seemed to 'bend' light around it, almost as if it was a shadow cast upon the earth rather than a sentient entity. Seeker looked up from his observations to Lyra who was staring at him with fear, perhaps more so than when she was bound and gagged, it was clear that her species were not used to the level of violent conflict that some Humans would class as 'normal'.

"Y-You killed it..." She stammered, Seeker was slightly irritated by this.

"Yes, I did kill it." He slung his rifle over his shoulder, "It was either _us_ or _it_, I had no choice."

Seeker marched over to a nearby tree and collapsed, the weight of the day's events taking it's toll on him. He slid down the tree into a sitting position and closed his eyes, wincing slightly as his worst memory flashed up in his vision, almost as if it was burnt into his retinas. Lyra watched the Human, she couldn't get her head around how strange this creature was, and how... Alien (For lack of a better term) it's customs were to hers.

"Um... Seeker..." She began, not taking her eyes off the creature as it raised it's 'head' to look at her, reflecting her face back at her. "...What...What where you and your... Friends doing here originally?..."

Seeker hung his head once more and suddenly found the ties on his Tactical Vest interesting. He played with them as he contemplated his answer, so far, the mission had gone "Tits up", as his father would put it. All of his men where K.I.A., M.I.A. at best. He had two options: Lie about his situation, of course that raise a lot of complications surrounding his gear. Or tell the truth, possibly frighting the Pony in front of him and causing distrust between their already fragile 'friendship'. Seeker could feel the Pony's eyes boring into him, even through his suit.

_Man up, you've been through worse shit than this..._

"I'm part of a P.M.C... A Private Military Corporation, which basically means we're a group of men and women who are paid to take up contracts such as: Defending a VIP or destroying a rival business' wares. A good way to describe this sort of income is 'Blood Money'... But it's money at the end of the day. Recently, our former 'leader', one General Horowitz, informed us that a, _very _powerful individual required our services, and we would all be paid beyond our wildest dreams, however the contract would be supervised by someone known as 'The Chairman". We don't know his name, and I don't think Horowitz does either."

Seeker knew that most of his terminology was _way_ over Lyra' head, but he soldiered on.

"Anyway, the contract was simple: Subdue the inhabitants of a foreign realm. On paper it just looked like a simple invasion job, possibly for one of the African Warlords or Dictators. Little did we realise that we would be setting up an invasion for another _dimension_... Your world... We were going to invade your world for a nice fat pay-check, hopefully one I could have used to buy my way out of my line of work and drop off the radar for a while..."

Seeker had stood up after his explanation turning his back on Lyra, not looking at the Pony who sat in behind of him. Truth be told, Seeker didn't feel bad about what he had told Lyra, maybe he was desensitised to the whole situation thanks to a career in warfare, or perhaps the fatigue and possible loss of his squad had dulled his compassion and caring levels to almost minimal. It didn't matter, because Lyra was about to voice her opinion.

"You... You're a monster..." She stuttered, "How could you?... How could you do th-"

"Because!" Seeker snapped, turning on her, Lyra cowered as he loomed over her, "We were _ordered_ to! I bet you anything that if... 'Celestia' ordered the invasion of another country that you wouldn't question it!

"I guess it doesn't matter about my orders any more does it though?" Seeker's voice lost it's harsh edge as he turned away, "I'm stuck here now, stuck in this suit... Not getting home now..."

Seeker crossed his arms, he sighed deeply before continuing.

"You just go..." Seeker mumbled, "You know the way back to that town, you better get back, I've got to figure some shit out..."

Lyra had sat there through Seeker's wild roller-coaster ride of emotions, she detested the fact that he was originally here to destroy her very way of life. But from the way he'd described his situation, it was almost like he didn't want to do it? Lyra remembered he'd said that "He wouldn't let innocents die on his watch.", was this true? Well, he'd saved her, both from killed by his comrades and the creatures. Lyra got up and trotted over to the Human, who was still stood with his with his head lowered, she reached up and touched his hand with her hoof, the sudden action caused Seeker to jump a little, but he regained his composure quickly, looking down at the Pony. Lyra imagined he had a smile on his face as she spoke.

"Seeker... What I think you and your 'comrades' where going to do here is appalling, and if Celestia _did_ issue an order like you described, I would not follow it. The last war in Equestria was well over 1000 years ago, and it's an act I wouldn't wish it upon anypony..."

Lyra paused as Seeker turned and crouched so he was head height with her, he felt crestfallen at Lyra' harsh truth, but she hadn't finished yet.

"But, that doesn't mean I think you're a bad..." Lyra looked at Seeker for a prompt.

"Person," He chuckled lightly.

"That doesn't mean I think you're a bad... Person, you express regret over your actions, and... I get the feeling that you were pressured into it... Seeker, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're a..." Lyra paused, looking at Seeker for another prompt.

"Man." Seeker was smiling behind his helmet.

"What I'm trying to say is..." Lyra couldn't help but smiling, despite the situation, "You're a man of his word, you promised me that you wouldn't let your 'comrades' hurt me, and you kept that promise, you even rescued me from the creatures, when you could have easily have just left me. Seeker, I think you deserve a second chance, not just with me, but... with life."

Lyra hugged Seeker, startling the soldier, but he relaxed slightly. Seeker had to give credit where it's due, Lyra was damn good at delivering motivational speeches. Seeker didn't return the hug straight away, he paused before putting one arm around Lyra, while his right hand rested on his knee. Seeker looked up at the sky, the sun was blazing hotter than it was previously, he could _feel_ the heat off the star through his suit. The sudden rise in temperature caused Lyra to look up at the sky too.

"What in the hay?..." She murmured.

The star was slowly changing from a warm orange to an angry red, as the colour changed so did the temperature. Lyra pulled away from Seeker as she backed into the shade of the trees, Seeker brought up his left wrist and inspected the digital watch on the underside, the built in temperature gauge read at least 80 degrees. It was when a glow from the ground to the left of him did he do a double take, the creature's corpse was slowly evaporating under the heat, turning into ash. Lyra had noticed this as well, and gasped as the creature quickly burnt up under the Sun's wrath.

"Does it normally get this hot?" Seeker asked stepping into the shade,

"N-No..." Lyra panted a little bit under the sudden heat.

But just as it was about to become unbearably hot, the heat subsided instantly, dropping from 80 degrees to a measly 20. Seeker stepped out of the shade and peered at the sun, which had returned to it's usual orange colour. Seeker looked down at Lyra, who in turn looked up at him in confusion.

"What do you think that was about?" Seeker asked.

"I-I don't know," Lyra shook her head, "It may have had something to do with the Princess..."

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: Sorry to interrupt, but this is where Luna steps in and begins to explain the story of how she brought Gaz to Equestria... Although your going to have to wait until Chapter 16 for that! ;) ]**

* * *

><p>It was at that moment that clouds began to block out the sun, faster than what was deemed 'normal' for Seeker, he looked to Lyra for an explanation. She simply said that it was just the Weather Ponies orientating the clouds in preparation for rain. It was her turn to act surprised when Seeker replied stating that the weather changes on it's own back in his world.<p>

"You're saying that nopony controls the weather?" Lyra asked as the first few drops of rain began to descend. "And that nature itself is self sufficient?"

"Well... Yeah..." Seeker watched the raindrops splash on his visor, "I find it more puzzling that you guys need to control it..."

"... I need to get back to Ponyville." Lyra looked up at Seeker, "... I need to get away from... Recent events..."

"Which way is it?" Seeker asked, raising his wrist to eye-level, checking his direction as well as the time, "This forest sits on the East side of town, correct?"

"Yes, we need to head West then." Lyra nodded, "C-Can you lead? I'm kind of lost..."

"Follow me." Seeker set off, he turned to her a few paces on, "_Don't_ wander off and stay close, we don't know if there's any more of those... Creatures."

Lyra followed Seeker contently for a while, but found herself getting rather bored with no conversation. She tried to put the recent events out of her mind, still feeling a little shaken up. (Although unbeknownst to her, Seeker had commended her for handling the situation so well.) Lyra looked up at Seeker, who was marching at a steady pace through the brush, his weapon pointer in front of him at all times. She watched as he briefly felt a catch on the side of his helmet, near his neck, before returning his hand to the grip of his weapon.

"Seeker..." Lyra trotted alongside him, " You mentioned something earlier about being 'stuck in this suit' What... What did you mean?"

"This suit... It's designed for protection, in the simplest of terms, it keeps radiation from entering my body... Radiation is a type of energy that seems to be prominent in this world." Seeker explained, not looking at her. "If any of it comes into contact with me, I will be killed. I'd prefer it if that didn't happen."

Lyra raised her brow in shock, he needed the suit to survive? Or was it to merely survive in this environment?

"Do you... Need the suit to survive normally?" Lyra asked cautiously, "Or is it because you're from another... Dimension?"

"Back home I wouldn't need this suit, I only need it to survive here." He lifted up a low branch and stepped under it, "I'd love to at least take the helmet off, but as I said before, I don't want to die."

There was a pause, Seeker broke it.

"What're you getting at anyway?"

"N-Nothing!" Lyra stammered, "I'm just interested! Besides, I may know of a way to help..."

This made Seeker stop marching, he quickly glanced around before looking at her. Although Lyra couldn't see them, Seeker's eyes were burning with curiosity.

"Explain."

"Well... I _could _cast a ward that acts in a similar way to the properties of your suit. Therefore you wouldn't need to wear it, however there's some problems...

"Firstly, this 'radiation', if its magical energy, I can easily block it. The problem is I've never heard anything about 'radiation', and if I _can't_ block it... You will die... Secondly, even if the spell is successful, it won't last forever, a much more powerful Unicorn than I would have to re-cast it."

"Hang on, magic? What the hell, that's not even real!" Seeker commented.

"What? Why of course it is! Watch." Lyra focused her energy through her horn and levitated a small rock in a lime green glow.

Seeker stood in amazement at such a feat, while he probably guessed this was simple magic and nothing impressive, to the Human eye... It was astounding! Most 'magic' in Human terms was merely 'cloak and dagger', 'hand is quicker than the eye' tricks. This was unlike anything he'd seen before, Seeker snatched the rock out of the air when it reached around chest height, he inspected it, it was a perfectly normal rock, this magic stuff was _real_.

"Okay I'm convinced," Seeker tossed the rock away, "But are you _sure_ this will work?"

"I-I'm not sure..." Lyra mumbled, looking down at the ground. "I'll only cast it if you want me to."

Seeker pondered his decisions, he could reject the offer, and stay in the suit. He'd be perfectly safe and no risks would be taken, but what if he became hungry? Or needed to... 'Relieve' himself? He could go back for the AST... But it was too risky, there may be more creatures lurking about, and Seeker didn't even know how to work the damned thing. His only feasible option was to put his life on the line and accept Lyra offer.

"Do it," Seeker stood up, "I'm 100% sure, just start whenever your ready."

Lyra focused her energy into her horn once more, concentrating on the spell she wanted to cast. It took more effort to cast this spell as it required a lot more focus and energy than simply lifting objects and over trivial spells. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, before releasing her energy through her horn, which slowly encompassed Seeker's body. He tensed as his body was enveloped in the green glow, he partly regretted his decision, but there was no turning back now. Lyra was nearing the end of the spell, and released the last of her energy which shimmered over Seeker for a brief moment before disappearing. Lyra opened her eyes and nodded to Seeker indicating the spell was finished, he nodded, now was the time to see whether Lyra had pulled the spell off or not.

Seeker quaked as he grasped the suit's seal on his neck, he paused when he felt a lump in his throat. He hadn't felt this scared since... Well, since _then_. He looked down at Lyra, who looked just as frightened as he was, probably due to the chance that he may die by her han-... hoof. Seeker took some deep breaths, before wrenching the seal off and letting the cool air enter his suit.

Nothing. He felt nothing.

Well, he wasn't sure what being split atom from atom felt like apart from 'It'd be painful', but he was sure it wasn't supposed to feel like this. He cupped the lip of his helmet and lifted off his head, removing the black tint the visor caused on the world around him. Seeker squinted as the unfiltered sunlight hurt his eyes, it took the feeling of raindrops upon his brow for him to realise that the spell had worked. Seeker smiled for the first time since walking through the CDG and looked down at Lyra, who's face was a mix of curiosity over his features, and overwhelming happiness and pride that her spell had worked.

"You did it!" Seeker laughed, "You _damn_ well did it!"

Seeker crouched as Lyra hugged him once more, this time out of pure happiness than comfort. She pulled away, and as Seeker stood up, she got a good look at his face. His 'mane' was brown, but cut in a short style that looked strange to Lyra. He had short facial hair which ran around his jaw and mouth, unlike some other male Ponies, who seemed to grow it only above their mouths. What Lyra noticed however where his eyes, while not impressive in their own right, it was the circles that lay underneath them that where interesting. They gave the feeling that Seeker had seen some things that some Poni- People weren't meant to see. A raindrop landed on Lyra' nose causing her to flinch and break her train of thought, it was evident it was going to rain heavily, very soon.

"We should get moving," Seeker held his helmet in his left hand while he ran his other hand through his hair, "I don't particularly want to be caught in this rain..."

"Agreed"

The duo moved west towards Ponyville as the shower developed into a downpour. They where silent as they trudged through the forest, each perfectly content with each-others company. Seeker breathed in deeply, pleased at the smell of forest that graced his nostrils, and thankful that he could see the world through his own eyes and not through a visor. From his experiences today, it was clear that he was dealing with a major threat here, this... 'Darkness', had butchered his squad and probably shattered his chance of getting home. For Horowitz and the others to come through and set up the CDG permanently, they needed people on the other side to initiate a 'handshake procedure' with the CDG and the AST. Seeker wasn't sure of the AST's condition, nor of the camp it resided in, it was most likely safe as the field it projected couldn't be entered by the inhabitants of this dimension.

The edge of the forest came within sight after a while of walking, Seeker's short hair was sodden from the rain, and Lyra was fairly soaked herself, her mane plastered against her head. Seeker paused, and indicated for Lyra to stop when Ponyville was in sight.

"I never thought I'd be back here so soon..." Seeker mumbled.

"You were here before?" Lyra asked.

"We were doing some recon, we split into two teams of two." Seeker scratched his beard and gestured at the town that nestled in the valley. "Me and Psycho happened upon this place, we were on our way back to camp when Bulldog came over the radio saying we had a visitor... You."

Lyra winced at remembering her brief time in captivity.

"Psycho? Bulldog?" Lyra brushed her fringe out of her eyes with her hoof, "Were they your friends?"

"They were... My comrades," Seeker folded his arms, "We weren't friends, we didn't even know each others real names."

Lyra shook her head at the lack of compassion from the Human towards it's own kind, she pondered briefly on whether she could change his generally cold attitude. She wished to learn more from Seeker; about his home and his people, she wasn't sure why though, just something about his world fascinated her. Perhaps in turn, she could teach him to open up more and be... Nicer.

"What happens now?" Seeker asked, turning to her. "We can't go into the town."

"Why not?" Lyra looked at him quizzically.

Seeker gestured to himself with a bemused look on his face.

"Oh! Sorry! I completely forgot..." Lyra blushed out of embarrassment

"Forgot about something _extremely_ obvious..." Seeker muttered under his breath.

Fortunately, Lyra didn't hear his snide remark, and tapped a hoof against her chin in thought, trying to think of a place where Seeker could sneak into Ponyville unnoticed... It had to be near or at the edge of town... Away from the general populace. She extended a hoof in excitement along with a "Ah-Ha!", before turning to Seeker with her plan.

"Bon-Bon, my friend, owns a house near the outskirts of Ponyville, we could sneak you in..." She paused, "It would take a lot of convincing for Bon-Bon to keep you there though... She can be a little stubborn at times..."

"Going for the stealth approach, eh?" Seeker remarked, "How's this going to work? I doubt turning up on the front door stood next to you is going to help..."

"Actually... I think it might." Lyra looked up at Seeker, who wiped some of the rain off his brow. "Think about it, she's more likely to accept you if you turn up with me instead of just appearing in her back garden.."

"... Touché, Lyra..." Seeker cracked his knuckles, "Okay, lead the way, I want to get out of this rain."

Lyra couldn't agree more, she trotted off towards Ponyville, intentionally not sticking to the roads as to avoid unwanted attention. Seeker followed close behind her, jogging in a low-crouch, making his form as small as possible. Lyra found herself getting rather nervous at the whole affair, just in case they where caught. Stealing a glance in Seeker's direction indicated that the Soldier was calm and collected, probably even more so now that his mind was focused on a task. What Lyra didn't know is that Seeker was, for lack of a better term, 'bricking it', in all of his military experience, both on and _off_ the record, he had never attempted sneaking into an alien village, for obvious reasons of course.

"Lyra! Lyra!" A voice called, startling the duo from their concentration.

"_Shit_" Seeker whispered as he threw himself to the dirt, he shuffled into the long grass and watched as Lyra, now confident that Seeker was hidden, turned to face the Pony who had called. A grey mare fluttered towards her, almost lazily and child-like. Her blonde mane was rather damp, and a mail-bag was slung over her body. It was Ditzy Doo, the local mail-mare, she had earned the nickname 'Derpy' among certain circles due to her eye defect which caused her golden eyes to go cross-eyed.

"Lyra! Hello!" Ditzy beamed at her friend, dropping out of the air suddenly and landing, if a bit unsteady, on her hooves. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Ditzy!" Lyra smiled warmly at her friend. "What're you doing out in this weather? You'll catch a cold!"

"I have to deliver the mail!" Ditzy proclaimed proudly, striking a pose, "I was flying back to the office, when I saw you! I saw you with somepony, I came to see who it was but they disappeared!"

"Um... Ditzy... I wasn't with anyone..." Lyra quickly lied, "Are you sure you just weren't seeing things?"

"I was sure though..." Ditzy said sadly, "I like meeting new Ponies... Oh! I've got to go! Bye-bye Lyra!"

"Goodbye Ditzy! Take care!" Lyra called to her friend as she fluttered off towards Ponyville, she waited a minuted before giving the all clear to Seeker.

Seeker pulled himself up out of the brush and dusted himself off, he looked at Lyra and shook his head.

"You're a good liar, nice word thinking on your feet." Seeker commented.

"...Feet?" Lyra asked, confused.

"Never mind..." Seeker waved a hand, "That was _too_ close, we should moving... Let's go, double-time!"

* * *

><p><strong>And thus ends Chapter 15...<strong>

**But here begins a choice for you, the reader, to influence the direction that LoM will take next... **

**On my 'page', I will place a poll on you choice, you _must_ vote on the poll for your vote to count. I will take in the results when I post Chapter 16, I will also announce the results.**

**Your choice is: "Should Seeker and Lyra 'fall for each over'?" **

**Yay or Neigh? You decide.**

**Also expect to see more of Ditzy and perhaps some Dinky. And _yes_, you'll get your explanation from Luna next chapter: _IN THE ROYAL CANTERLOT SPEAKING VOICE._**

_**REMEMBER TO R&R, AND THAT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISIM IS WELCOMED!**_

_**FARE-THEE-WELL, DEAR READER!**_

**~TRW**


	16. Redemption

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 16**

**The story continues!**

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot Castle (1 hour earlier)<span>

The Princess of the Moon closed her eyes to collect her thoughts, and to escape the glare of the Alien in front of her.

Gaz took a deep breath, he felt ragged, not just because of his time in a cell, but also due to his addiction. If he had hands he would wring them together, Gaz partly regretted his promise to Fluttershy earlier that morning... But it was too late now. Gaz looked behind him to the Ponies who stood behind him; each displayed a different form of shock. He turned back to the two Princesses, Celestia still retained her hard, stern gaze, yet it was aimed at her sister, not at Gaz. Luna herself had closed her eyes, presumably to gather her thoughts.

"Luna..." Celestia began, "In what way are you responsible?"

"...I knew it was a bad idea, I should never have attempted the spell. Sister, do you-"

"Wait, wait!" Gaz interjected, "_What_ spell? What are-"

"_No interrupting!"_ Proclaimed Luna, using the traditional Canterlot speaking voice.

Gaz braced himself as the sheer force of Luna's magical shout washed over him. As he regained his composure, he thought of something witty to retort with, it was too good to resist.

"Hang on, I thought that the Royal Canterlot Speaking voice is reserved for your subjects?" Gaz raised a brow, "Technically I'm not one of your subjects..."

Gaz couldn't stop a small smirk grace his features as he watched Luna blink a couple of times whilst processing his quip. Gaz began to chuckle as he realised he outsmarted a centuries old god-like being, not many people can say they've done _that_!

"_SILENCE!"_ Luna bellowed, obviously annoyed with Gaz's remark.

Gaz was silent.

"-ahem-" Luna turned to the Princess of the Sun, "Sister, do you remember my experiment that I began a couple of months ago?"

"Why, yes." Celestia's expression softened, morphing into confusion, "What of it?"

"Well..." Luna paused, turning to Gaz. "This is the result of that experiment."

A loud "WHAT?" echoed around the chamber for the second time that day, only this time it was Celestia's doing. She stamped a hoof, a mixture of confusion and anger on her face.

"Luna! Why did you not inform me that this was the nature of your experiment?" Celestia stressed, "Why have you brought _it_ here when you know exactly what they're capable of?"

Luna formulated a response, suppressing a smile when she heard Gaz yell that he was "Still in the room, y'know!", in all truths, Luna shook her head and looked at her elder sister.

"Sister, my experiment was in teleportation magic." Luna said matter of factly, "I wanted to see if you could transport larger entities than just a single Pony. I wanted to see if you could transport entire towns or continents to a different area of Equestria in the blink of an eye!"

"Sorry to interrupt but..." Gaz interjected when Luna paused, "_Why_ would you want to transport entire towns?"

"A valid question, Celestia asked me a similar question when I first began the experiment over a month ago." Luna had turned to Gaz, and out of the corner of her eye she could see her sister scold herself for forgetting her sister's experiment and jumping to conclusions earlier. "Think about it, a town is in danger, normal procedure is to evacuate the town. This costs the Equestrian government hundreds upon thousands of bits, and even then, the towns-ponies will have to relocate elsewhere. If this experiment succeed, things like the 'Appleloosa Incident' could have been over in an instant!"

Gaz raised a brow at Luna's enthusiasm over her experiment. The TV show had never mentioned an 'Equestrian Government', he'd just presumed that Celestia and Luna 'ran the show'.

"Equestrian Government?" Gaz asked

"Whilst me and Luna hold the power and make the decisions, there is a comity of Ponies which is made up representatives of each and every town or city. If something bad happens in a town, all the other members will pitch in and help one-another. They also discuss planning rights and such, but they cannot make the decisions, only we can" Celestia filled him in, her hostility hid behind her normal instructive tone.

"Okay... " Gaz rubbed his hoof against his chin, trying to scratch the itch there, "Right, carry on Princess."

"Thank you," Luna replied, clearing her throat, "So yes as I was saying, I started this experiment just over a month ago, but I hadn't had any success... Well, until two days ago that is..."

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot Castle (2 days ago)<span>

_Luna had always spent some time observing her masterpiece as it lazily hung in the night sky._

_But not tonight, tonight... She was going to have a break-through, she could feel it._

_As soon as she and her sister had completed their daily cycle (whereupon Celestia would retire to her quarters), Luna trotted towards the empty room she had prepared her experiment in. There were a huge amount of empty rooms in Canterlot Castle, some of which hadn't been used since before Discord's rule at least over a thousand years ago, this room in particular was the only one big enough to test her experiment. The time between raising the Moon and lowering it for the morning was, without a doubt, very uneventful. There were little to no visitors, and Luna couldn't just read books all night. So Luna amused herself by conducting little experiments, some large some small, some out of interest and some where for the benefit of Ponies everywhere. This experiment was the latter, so far over the past month there had been no success for the Princess of the Night, she was hoping now would be the exception._

_Luna pushed open the wooden door and locked it behind her, she didn't want anypony walking in on her work. She walked over to the stack of notes and papers she had over the past month, she levitated a particular scroll towards her eyes, this was one she had wrote last night. Luna was hopeful the formulae on this would allow her to succeed in her experiment. It was simple, so simple in fact, that Luna hadn't even considered it an option due to it's fruitless prospects, basically one would need to cast the teleportation spell as per normal, but then cast a ward over the particular object they wanted to transport. This was a risky manoeuvre, as mixing spells causes sometimes 'explosive' results, Luna would be unscathed by any explosion, but the same couldn't be said for any Guards nearby, or the integrity of the Castle itself._

_Focusing her energy into her horn, she prepared the teleportation spell, but at the same time, prepared the ward spell on a large globe that depicted the world of Equestria in all it's glory. The ward spell was ready, she let it loose upon the globe; a purple aura encapsulating it. The teleportation spell was ready. Luna needed a location, somewhere she remembers well... Ponyville... near Twilight Sparkle's friends house... Fluttershy? Luna still owed her a proper thank you for helping her 'restrain' her previous voice. She concentrated on the location, before releasing the spell, she felt the energy leave her._

_But nothing happened._

_The globe was where it was originally... But Luna felt so weak... She almost had no energy left. Whatever spell she DID cast had taken a huge toll on her, she collapsed then and there on the spot out of exhaustion._

_When she rose a few hours later, she decided the best course of action was to abandon that experiment for the time being._

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot Castle (Present Day)<span>

"... I arrived just in time to lower the Moon for Celestia." Luna indicated to Gaz, "At first I wasn't sure what had happened... But upon hearing the news that an alien was here, and a _human_ no less, I realised that I had brought you here."

Gaz was dumbfounded, the concept of magic was mind boggling for a Human to comprehend. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

"That still doesn't explain how Humans where here _before _me." Gaz looked to Celestia, who had remained quiet during her sister's explanation.

"I do not how they got here." Celestia dead-panned, "What I do remember from those distant days was their constant talk of 'The War'... I think one of them used the term 'Communists'..."

"Communists? The War?..." Gaz spluttered. "That must've been the Cold War... When did that end?... 1989? That was only 22 years ago for us, you said it was over a _thousand _years?"

"Yes, it seems that time moves at a much faster pace in Equestria than it does in your world." Celestia nodded. "But these Humans, they caused so much trouble. Almost out of spite... It was upsetting."

"What happened to them?" Gaz asked.

"Nightmare Moon happened." Luna muttered, barely audible. Gaz decided that it was best to leave this conversation for another time.

The Princess of the Sun stepped towards Gaz, she paused half-way almost hesitant, before kneeling down so she was at his height. Gaz watched as a look of sorry graced her face, a nice change from the bitter hate he received earlier. She cleared her throat before beginning, only to find that she wasn't even sure of the alien's name.

"...Gareth, was it?"

He nodded.

"Gareth... I owe you an apology..." Celestia started.

Gaz thought about making another smart remark but held his tongue.

"I misjudged you, when I read Twilight's letter I was so... so, consumed by rage at the mere mention of the word 'Human' that I did not read it thoroughly enough. Thanks to my sister's explanation, I now know you aren't here on ill terms, and... I am sorry for thinking otherwise. Although you must understand, as active ruler of Equestria, the safety of it and it's Ponies are my number one concern.

"Me and Luna will have our scribes scour the grand archive to see if there is anyway to get you home. I'm sure rectifying the situation will be simple enough, although it may take a while... I will send a letter to Twilight if we make any progress."

"Thanks..." Gaz sighed, "Sorry for -heh- 'loosing my cool' before by the way."

"That's understandable." Celestia chuckled, rising to her hooves. "Now go on, you and your friends can all go now. I need to have a chat with my Sister about these experiments of hers..."

Gaz turned and trotted away as Luna audibly groaned at the prospect of loosing her only method of entertainment. To be honest he had completely forgotten about the Ponies stood behind him in during Luna's 'flashback'. They all wore apologetic looks on their faces, Applejack stepped up to him as he drew close.

"Oh, sugercube..." Applejack looked down in shame, "Ah am so, _so_ sorry. Ah shouldn't have hit ya, I wasn't one to judge..."

"Gaz... I'm sorry about what I said..." Twilight chimed in.

"It's fine honestly, you had perfectly good reasons to believe your Princess over an... Alien." Gaz rubbed his temple with his left hoof, "Now I need to find a certain butter-yellow Pegasus, which way she go?"

"Down there, darling..." Rarity pointed to a long sweeping corridor, "Just be careful, that SureStrike fellow may still be around."

"Thanks, I'll find you all later." Gaz began to gallop off, but stopped halfway down the hall when he heard his name being called. He turned to see what was left of the Mane 6 watching from the doorway, each of them a little bit teary eyed over their previous behaviour.

"Gareth... Please stay safe, for all of us." Twilight called.

He responded with a nod before galloping down the hall.

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Ponyville<span>

"Just a minute!~" Bon Bon trotted towards the door after hearing three raps on the door fro outside. She grasped the door with her hoof and pulled it open, revealing...

"Oh! Lyra! You're soaking! You'll catch a cold, I-"

She trailed off as she noticed who, or rather _what_ was stood next to her friend. Standing almost twice her height, stood a two legged... Monster. It's body was bulky, with many straps and pouches on it, it's gloved... hooves? It's hooves cradled a stubby object that seemed to made of an unknown material. Looking further up, Bon Bon noticed the creature's face, it's mane was cut short, and it grew over it's face, the creature opened it's mouth, presumably to speak.

Bon Bon didn't give it a chance before she grabbed Lyra and yanked her into the house before slamming the door shut and bolting it. If one listened closely, you would hear Seeker sigh loudly. Lyra turned to her friend, who shook with fear, when she spoke her words where laced with a trace of fear.

"Oh Celestia! Thank goodness you're all right!" Bon Bon sighed, "What are we going to do? There's a monster outside and we-"

She was silenced by Lyra hoof covering her mouth. She continued to speak for a moment, letting out comical "Mmmphfs" instead of words, eventually she gave up, allowing Lyra a chance to speak.

"Bon Bon... He's not a monster, that's Seeker" She began, looking at the door, almost unsure at her next choice of words. "...He's a friend."

"Are you _sure_?" Bon Bon moved her friend's hoof off her face, "He looked so dangerous and... Scary!"

"I _know_ he looks scary... But he really needs our help!" Lyra pleaded, "Please Bon Bon, you all ways say you're willing to help a Pony in need. While Seeker _isn't_ a Pony, he still needs help!"

Bon Bon hesitated, scuffing the floor with her hoof, she looked up at Lyra who put on her best 'puppy-dog eyes', Bon Bon groaned loudly before unbolting the door. Lyra uttered a silent "Yes!" before opening the door to reveal Seeker with his back to the door. He was couched on one knee whilst aiming his F2000 to the world around him, he turned his head when he heard the door open, he was quickly ushered inside by Lyra while Bon Bon shut the door, giving Seeker a large berth as she did so.

"Hello..." Bon Bon smiled sheepishly at the creature who stood at the other side of the room.

"Hey..." Seeker smiled, trying to be friendly.

"Y-You can talk..." Bon Bon stammered as Lyra pushed her into the other room, she motioned for Seeker to 'stay put' while she talked to Bon Bon for a moment.

Seeker sighed and shook his head. Lyra wasn't kidding when she said that Bon Bon would be 'difficult'. He took this time to observe his surroundings, a simple hardwood floor went well with the cream wallpaper, it made the front room feel more spacious than it actually was. There was a small fire to Seeker's right, opposite that a couch and two chairs faced the glowing embers. On the far wall there was a bookcase, a small picture hung on the wall next to it, it seemed to be a photograph.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Seeker walked up to the picture and removed it from the wall. The picture was in colour, surprisingly, and depicted three Ponies stood posing in a courtyard surrounded by many other Ponies who where oblivious to the photograph being taken. Upon closer inspection, Seeker realised that Lyra and Bon Bon where in the photo, along with an unknown burgundy coloured Pony with a purple mane. Seeker placed the photo back on the wall before placing his helmet on the floor and hefting his F2000 up to his chest. He thumbed the magazine release and stored the magazine in one of the empty pouches in his vest., he cocked the charging handle causing an unspent bullet to fall from the gun. Seeker swiped up the bullet and stored it in his dump-pouch, he activated the safety on the F2000 before resting it against the wall, confident that none of the Ponies would tamper with it.

Seeker undid the straps on his tactical vest as well, before slipping it off over his head and placing it next to his rifle. He was pleased he could have this brief moment of respite, he plopped down on one of the chairs, shifting for a bit trying to get comfortable as the chair wasn't meant for his size. A small 'mew' brought his attention to the stairs which where next to the door to the Kitchen where Lyra and Bon Bon where, a small black cat sat at the foot of the stairs observing Seeker with undue interest. Seeker stared into the felines yellow eyes for a moment, it was almost like... It didn't belong here either...

The cat uttered a small 'mew' before walking up to the human and brushing against his legs, Seeker smiled as he petted the long haired animal with a gloved hand. He heard the kitchen door open and looked up to see Bon Bon and Lyra walk out of the kitchen, Bon Bon had a hesitant smile on her face whilst Lyra had a look of smug satisfaction.

"Well... Seeker... I guess... You can stay for a while..." Bon Bon mumbled, "You too Lyra... If it's no offence to our guest... I'd like a friend to stay here and make sure you're..."

"Safe?" Seeker finished her sentence, "Don't worry ma'am, I have no intention of hurting you or Lyra."

Bon Bon relaxed at hearing such a statement from the creature itself, she noticed the black cat circling around Seeker's legs.

"Well... I see you found Archibald..." She said with a smile, "He seems to like you."

She paused as the cat noticed it's owner and padded over to her, purring as it brushed against her legs,

"Well, Lyra... Seeker, I presume you are both hungry?" They both nodded, "Okay... Well, I guess I could whip something up for both of you... I wasn't expecting visitors... Especially alien visitors..."

Bon Bon turned about face and walked into the kitchen, Archibald followed her, but not before stealing a glance back at the Human. Seeker looked to Lyra who smiled at him, Seeker shook his head.

"I don't even want to know what you told her."

"Only what she needs to know," Lyra winked, "C'mon, I'll show you where you're going to stay the night."

They trudged up the stairs, Lyra going first as Seeker grabbed his helmet, F2000 and Tactical vest before joining her at the top of the stairs, he had to stoop as he climbed them as he was too tall to stand upright.

"Lyra?" She looked up at him, "How long is this ward going to last?"

"Erm... I would say another 5 hours or so, I'll start to feel my strength return to me when it starts to wear off." She tapped her chin with her hoof. "I'd recommend you put your suit back on when you go to bed, just in case."

Seeker nodded and followed Lyra through the door nearest to the stairs, it turned out to be a guest room. One Pony sized bed along with a chest of drawers and a simple night stand were all that decorated the room, a plush tan carpet and chocolate coloured walls gave the room a warm feel to it. Seeker couldn't help but notice a spare mattress that had been hastily set up as a makeshift bed, he pointed to it.

"Let me guess, you're friend, Bon Bon, only has _one_ spare room?"

Lyra lowered her head a bit before walking over to the window which was near the chest of drawers, she watched the rain spray against the glass.

"Yeah..." Lyra laughed, "Are you okay with..?"

"I'm fine, but you're taking the bed." Seeker held up a hand, silencing her protests, "No buts."

Seeker dumped his stuff next to the mattress before gripping the seals on his suit, he had fatigues on underneath his suit which aided for comfort and provided him with a little more modesty. He paused, turning his head he saw Lyra staring at him.

"Um... I _have_ got clothes on under this..." Seeker gestured to his suit, "But, can you not stare? It's rather unsettling..."

"Oh! I-... Sorry!" Lyra quickly turned and stared out the window. However she couldn't help herself as curiosity over took her and she glanced at Seeker out of the corner of her eye.

Satisfied that Lyra wasn't watching, Seeker quickly hit the clamps on the suit release, each letting out a small hiss, even though there was no pressure to release. He let the suit collapse to his knees, exposing his grey T-shirt and combat pants. He quickly removed his boots and gloves and removed the suit fully, he threw the suit and gloves on the mattress before putting his boots back on.

"All right I'm done.." Seeker said while brushing down his shirt.

Lyra turned to see Seeker brushing out the creases in his shirt. Without his suit he looked a lot less bulky, but he was still an imposing sight to anypony. Lyra noticed what seemed to be a Cutie Mark on Seeker's... Forearm? Unlike many other Cutie Marks Lyra had seen in her life, this one was not in colour, or seemed to be related to any particular talent. The tattoo was a black outline of what seemed to be a skull, backed by a cross of bones, it made Lyra shudder a little bit.

"Seeker... What is your Cutie Mark?" She asked.

It took a moment for Seeker to realise what she was talking about until he followed her gaze to his forearm. He chuckled slightly at the thought of his tattoo being considered 'cute' in anyway.

"This, is a tattoo." He held up his arm, "It's the logo of my PMC."

Lyra felt the sudden need to ask an important question.

"You're... You're not going to follow through with you 'orders'... Are you?" She asked hesitantly.

Seeker paused, he hadn't given the whole affair much thought. On the off chance that he squad mates where still alive, he'd have no choice but to 'stick with the plan'. However the chances of that where slim to none, he sighed a sense of duty clashing with his moral compass. He had no right to bring war and instigate an invasion on this peaceful world, Lyra was willing to give him another chance... Seeker felt he should take it, after all, there was no hope in hell for him getting home.

"No, no I'm not." Seeker folded his arms, he looked Lyra in eyes, "And as long I'm here, I'm going to make sure no harm befalls to anypony."

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot Castle (30 minutes earlier)<span>

Gaz finally reached the end of the corridor, he pushed open the door to the outside courtyard only to get drenched from the rain.

He didn't care though, he needed to find her.

Gaz trotted through the Castle Gardens, a majority of the animals had gone inside to escape the rain, and it seems that the Guards had stayed inside the Castle to stay dry. Thankfully Gaz did not run into SureStrike, he wasn't exactly sure how the over zealous Captain would react to a prisoner out of his cell and freely wandering Canterlot Castle! Trekking further and further into the gardens, Gaz saw a figure sat on the floor, he brushed his fringe out of his eyes which had fallen down due to the rain before galloping towards the seated figure. As he drew nearer, Gaz could spy a sodden rainbow coloured mane: The figure was Rainbow Dash.

"Where's Fluttershy?" Gaz asked, shaking his head , throwing raindrops everywhere.

"Why do you care?" Rainbow spat, turning her head to him, "You've hurt her enough."

"Excuse me? I've done nothing!" Gaz stomped a hoof for emphasis, "This has already been cleared up, Celestia acknowledges the fact that I didn't come here of my own accord. Hell, it was Luna who brought me here, and even then it was an accident, they don't even know _how_ she brought me here. So please Rainbow, I need to find Fluttershy... Please."

Rainbow stood up and sighed before turning to Gaz, she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Gareth, I'm sorry about what I said before, but I need to ask you something..." She paused, "Do you love her?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you love Fluttershy?"

"... Yes... More so than anything in the world, mine or yours."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Honestly?" Gaz looked at Rainbow, "I may be from another world but I love her with all my heart, I would lay down my life for her if it came to it..."

He trailed off, feeling tears build up in his eyes. He was thankful they were masked by the rain, Rainbow coughed uneasily before looking over Gaz's shoulder.

"Gaz... You.. Honestly feel that way about me?" Said a voice from behind Gaz.

He turned to face a teary looking Fluttershy sat down on the grass, her mane plastered against her head due to the rain. Her eyes where red, making it evident that she had been crying for some time. Rainbow quietly said her goodbyes and flew off to find her friends.

"Y-Yes... Fluttershy... I do." Gaz croaked.

She threw her hooves around him and cried into his shoulder, Gaz gently stroked her mane while his other hoof wrapped around her. The rain started to beat down heavier as the two Ponies stood there in one-another's embrace.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Gaz.. I" Fluttershy sniffed as she pulled away to look at Gaz's face, he could feel a smile creep onto his face as he sat down in front of her, oblivious to the downpour around him.

"Fluttershy, don't apologise, it's okay..."

He leaned in and kissed her, Fluttershy stood stock still for a moment, before returning the kiss. She threw her hooves around Gaz as they embraced each other, the rain grew heavier still and the Ponies where drenched to the bone. But they didn't care as they pulled away, Fluttershy pushed her mane out from in front of her face as she looked at Gaz, who smiled warmly at her. They stood up and began to make their way back inside the Castle, Fluttershy leaning on Gaz.

Gaz opened the door to the inside of the Castle and shook himself dry. Fluttershy did the same, and they trotted down the corridor together. Gaz looked over at Fluttershy, who looked back with a smile on her face.

"Gaz... Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, slightly puzzled.

"For everything."She replied, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Gaz felt himself turn red at her kiss, they totted along the hallway slowly making their way back to Celestia's chambers where the rest of the Mane 6 would be. He reflected on recent events, it was Luna who brought him here via a magical mishap, but what frightened Gaz was the fact that she didn't even _know_ how she did it, and neither did Celestia. Gaz bit his lip in trepidation as he rolled over the idea of never getting home in his head, it too frightened him a little bit, not being able to get home.

But, he felt comfort in the fact that this place was... _perfect_. None of the ills that plagued his world inhabited this one, war, famine, death. They where all unheard of in Equestria... In this make believe place, Gaz frowned, he had yet to tell the Mane 6 of their cartoon adaptations... Gaz made a mental note to perhaps tell Celestia, she may take it better than the main cast. As he walked down the hall, Fluttershy at his side, Gaz felt an emotion creep up within him and reflect itself upon his face.

For the first time today, he felt truly happy inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-Da!<strong>

**It's the chapter 16! You guys, you have no idea how _hard_ it was to think up Luna's accident that brought Gaz to Equestria! So if you find any errors, PM me, I'll sort 'em out!**

**But now it's time for what you've all been waiting for, the results of the poll! So here we go, at time of writing the results are:**

**9 of you voted Yes!**

**7 of you voted No!**

**As the results are so close, and many people have expressed their 'displeasure' at the prospect of the idea of Seeker/ Lyra. I have decided to encompass both ideals, what do I mean by this? You'll have to wait an see, but trust me, you're going to like it.**

**So yeah, remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**~TRW**


	17. Living in the Past

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 17**

"_I wonder if LoM is ever going to get updated?... Well, I suppose that is the end of TRW..."_

***Flashes into existence***

**Au contraire, mon Capitan! He's back!**

***Cue Miriachi band***

**Hello! Didja miss me? I missed you guys!**

**Before we go on, I have decided to go back and change 'Heartstrings' name back to 'Lyra'. Mainly for two reasons, first, to help readers get an idea of _who_ 'Heartstrings' actually is, and secondly... Well, 'Lyra' is shorter to type than 'Heartstrings'! (And don't worry, I've gone back and changed her name in all the previous chapters!)**

**So with further ado, let us continue!**

**(Also, cookie if you get the opening reference!)**

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Ponyville<span>

Seeker blindly reached out for a towel.

After much fumbling, he managed to grasp one and he rubbed his face with it whilst turning the the tap off, halting the steady stream of ice-cold water. Seeker had to admit, he was surprised to find such modern facilities in this world, but he was thankful none the less. He peered into mirror which was perched on the wall just above the sink, what was a 5 o'clock shadow 2 days ago had new become a fairly visible beard, he needed a shave, although Seeker was unsure whether or not the inhabitants of this realm _needed_ to shave. He had quickly excused himself after his talk with Lyra to quickly 'freshen up', she had informed him to meet her and Bon Bon downstairs afterwards. Seeker stepped back and quickly checked his general appearance in the mirror, if the 'grubby multidimensional soldier' look was in this year he would've been the talk of the town. Satisfied, he turned about face and trudged downstairs, stooping as not to hit his head on the low ceiling.

Lyra looked up from her Daisy Sandwich as heavy hoof- footfalls signalled the inevitable arrival of their 'foreign' guest. She across the table she was sat at to Bon Bon, who was biting her lip anxiously, she looked over to Lyra, doubt evident in her eyes.

"Lyra, I'm still not sure about this..." She moaned.

"Bon Bon please," Lyra pointed a hoof at the stairwell, "Seeker may not show it but he is just as scared as you are! Just give him a chance."

At that precise moment Seeker himself walked in on the two Mares and their cups of brew. Bon Bon noticeably lowered her gaze into her cup of herbal tea while Lyra smiled and made eye contact with Seeker, all she received was a curt nod in return. He walked over to table, before positioning himself awkwardly on one of the small dining chairs. Lyra watched curiously as he sat on the chair and rested his... elbows on the table, she briefly wondered if it would be possible for a Pony to sit like that. Seeker glanced up as a plate was slid in his direction, Bon Bon smiled hesitantly at Seeker before quickly shying away from him.

Seeker mumbled a "Thanks" before taking a bite into the sandwich, Lyra and Bon Bon shot each other a glance when they both noticed Seeker's canine teeth flash in the light before they sunk into the bread. Seeker grimaced as an unpleasant taste graced his taste-buds, he peeled back the top layer of bread to inspect the filling, which turned out to be grass and a couple of flowers. He knew Ponies didn't eat meat, but still, he was expecting cheese at least.

"Sorry... I can't eat this filling..." Seeker apologised as he picked out the grass and flowers and placed them on his plate, "I'll just have the bread..."

They sat in silence, the only sounds being the pitter-patter of rain upon the window. Seeker promptly finished his bread, pleased to have something to eat other than MREs, Meal-Ready to eat, as they tasted as bad as they looked _and _smelled. Seeker looked up from his plate at the two Ponies sat either side of him, Bon Bon shot the occasional glance at Seeker from the corner of her eye, whilst Lyra looked between her friend and her extraterrestrial acquaintance. She brought a hoof to her forehead and let out a sigh, this was going to be harder than she initially thought.

"Okay..." Lyra caught the attention of everyone in the room, "Seeker, is it okay if Bon Bon I ask you some questions?"

"... I don't see why not." He replied hesitantly.

"If... If I could start?.." Bon Bon spoke up, Seeker nodded and she continued, "Lyra mentioned where you were from... Could you tell us anything more about it?"

"...There's not much to say really, I guess it's rather like this one. "Seeker dead panned.

"Oh! Okay..." Bon Bon replied, a little shocked at the creature's blunt response.

Lyra let out an audible sigh, they weren't going to get anywhere like this.

"Please Seeker, you're going to have to co-operate with us here." Lyra indicted to her and Bon Bon, "We are your only chance at getting home, so please-"

"Please what?" Seeker snapped, a little harsher than he intended. Bon Bon and Lyra visibly shrank back from him. "What in the hell are you trying to accomplish here?"

"We want to _know_ you Seeker!" Lyra shot back, Bon Bon glanced over in surprise, "I-I want to know, so please, we can't help you unless we _know_."

"Right, what exactly do you want to know then?" Seeker asked.

"Um... How did you end up in this... 'PMC'?" Lyra asked.

Seeker sighed, he was afraid this topic would crop up, he cracked his knuckles out of habit before starting.

"Well, I was in the army at one point; the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment. This was... 2003, so we're talking 8 years ago now. I was 19 at the time, and it was my first, and _last_ tour with the army... I was part of the tank crew in a M1 Abrams from H Company... We were on patrol when we got the orders to go assist 2nd Squadron..."

* * *

><p><span>Earth – Iraq - <span>Al Habbaniyah _(1__st__ May 2003)_

_Cooper lurched to the side as the Abrams swung itself around a corner, in hot pursuit of the group of Iraqis as they fled from the MBT that was hot on their heels. PFC Givens' was a good driver, debris on the road where no match for the young soldier as he navigated the tank with ease. They'd received a call from 2nd Squadron, who where pinned down under heavy fire from hostiles whilst defending several abandoned enemy Ammunition Supply Points (ASP) and the Air force base located in Al Habbaniyah. Givens had managed to get the tank in position for Cooper to take a shot with the main gun, it was too risky however, the tank shell's point of impact would be danger close for friendly forces, so instead they had to resort to scaring them off with the coaxial machine gun._

_Cooper was about to open his mouth to shout something to Givens when the whole world suddenly lurched up and smashed down, throwing Givens out of his seat and into the wall behind him. The Abrams had driven over a blind hill and had landed nose-first into a ditch,Cooper could here the gentle pings of hostile rounds bounce off the tank's armour plating. He looked over at Givens, he had hit the wall fairly hard, wrenched out of his seat by the force of the impact. Cooper felt for a pulse, fearing the worst, he breathed a small sigh of release when it turned out he was only unconscious. Cooper felt about for the radio, while Givens and him were okay, they weren't out of the woods yet._

"_2nd Squadron this is Big-Bear, we are stranded in a ditch over the brow of the hill, do you have visual? Over."_

"_Big-Bear, this is Sergeant Wills. We have a confirmed visual on you, over." Cooper thumbed the 'talk' button once more._

"_Be advised, sir, I have one wounded here and an unknown number of hostiles, over" Cooper unclasped his helmet._

"_Roger that, we should be with you in 2 minutes. Wills out."_

_Cooper slumped back into his chair and let his helmet fall off his head. It landed in the bottom of the tank with a splash. Cooper looked over to check on Givens, he-._

_Wait, splash?_

_Cooper looked down with horror to realise that the Abrams was, slowly but surely, filling up with water. He grabbed the radio again and contacted 2nd Squadron._

"_Sgt. Wills, this is Big-Bear." He began, "We are filling up with water here, I say again, we are going to drown if you don't double time it here!"_

"_Roger that, don't worry, we'll be there."_

_The main reason that the two man crew of Big-Bear needed 2nd Squadron's support was because in order to open the driver's hatch, the main gun of the Abrams needed to be rotated in such a way that required the front of the Abrams to be pulled out of the ditch. Cooper felt the water reach his mid-section, he flinched as the cold water lapped at his body. Glancing over at Givens, who was still unconscious, Cooper noticed that the water was reaching his chest due to his slumped position, he quickly righted Givens so that his head would be above the surface of the water._

_A minute later, Cooper was fighting to keep his head above the surface of the water, he had thrown Givens around his shoulder, keeping his head above the water, if only just. Cooper had heard the friendly forces arrive with the sound gunfire, they had brought with them a M88A1, an Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) to help winch the trapped Abrams out of the ditch. Cooper couldn't fight the water any more, especially when he was carrying Givens as well, Cooper looked over to Givens, the man was well and truly out of it. Cooper had two options, he could keep clinging to Givens, giving him the opportunity to live, but risking both their lives in the process. Or... Cooper could drop him, sparing himself... But sacrificing Givens' life..._

_Cooper made his choice as the water covered his head._

_Sgt. Wills wrenched open the driver's hatch of the Abrams, and was met with Cooper gasping for air. Wills shouted for a medic as he pulled Cooper out of the tank, he was sodden, and he shivered as the cool night air washed over him. Wills studied the patch on the man's tactical vest, 'Private Cooper', blood type 'AB+'. The soldier, who was only the mere age of 19 Wills assumed, looked like he was going into Acute stress Reaction, otherwise known as 'shock'._

"_Private!...Cooper!" Wills shook him as the medic ran up next to him, "Cooper, where's the wounded?"_

_The young man shook his head before passing out._

* * *

><p>Equestria - Ponyville <em>(Present Day)<em>

"... I left Givens to die, only to save my own skin." Seeker was staring off into space as he spoke, "I was honourably discharged from the Army due to what they thought was PTSD, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a month later I was diagnosed with Schizoid personality disorder... In the simplest of terms it means that I am 'detatched' from many, if not all events in reality. It is difficult for me to express and feel emotions from time to time as a result..."

The Ponies sat in silence as Seeker finished his story. Whilst some of the terminology used was way over their heads, they understood the basic premise of the story. Lyra felt her eyes well up with tears as she mulled over the story in her head, she rubbed them with a hoof before glancing over to Bon Bon, who had her hooves to her muzzle in shock. Lyra stood up and ambled up towards the Human, before putting a hoof on his arm, the contact brought Seeker's attention away from in front of him and down towards Lyra.

"Seeker," She began, "If you ever need a helping hoo- erm, hand, or just somepony to listen... I'm here."

"Me too." Bon Bon spoke up.

"... Thanks, both of you..." Seeker flashed the briefest of smiles. "Bon Bon, could I ask you a question?"

"Wha? Uh, yes of course Seeker." Bon Bon was caught off-guard by his sudden question.

"How far away are we from Ponyville itself?"

"Well, we're pretty secluded here." Bon Bon tapped a hoof to her chin, "I'd say within a mile. Why?"

"I wanted to get some air, I won't go far..." Seeker went to stand up, but was stopped by a pressure on his arm, he coughed awkwardly.

Lyra jumped slightly at Seeker's cough, she removed her hoof sheepishly allowing him to stand up and leave via the back door. Lyra sighed and looked over to her friend who had not moved a muscle since Seeker stood up and stepped outside via a back door into the rain.

"That story was awful.." Bon Bon began. "How could anypony go through that and come out sane?"

"Well, his mental state isn't the best from what I've seen," Lyra responded, "He sounds like he just needs someone to be there for him..."

"Lyra?" Bon Bon asked, "What's gotten into you recently? Ever since you came back with this _thing_, you've acted almost... Smitten!"

"He's _not_ a thing!" Lyra retorted, a little harsher than she meant to, "And I am not 'smitten'! Is it wrong to care for other things now, Bon Bon?"

Lyra trailed off as she came to her senses, she had placed her front hooves on the table and leaned in on her friend, who in turn had backed off, fear evident in her eyes. Lyra staggered back from the table, shocked at her actions.

"O-oh Bon Bon... I'm so sorry." Lyra felt tears welling up, "It's just... After today... I get the sense things are never going to be the same again..."

Bon Bon quickly got to her hooves and pulled her friend into a comforting embrace. Lyra returned the embrace, hoping to apologise for her previous actions. They pulled away, Bon Bon smiled at her friend, telling her everything was forgotten.

"Lyra, you should go check on him." She nodded a head towards the door, "I doubt reliving that memory was pleasant."

Lyra nodded and marched towards the door, she opened it with her magic to reveal a swirling maelstrom of rain before her. She was about to call out into the rainstorm when she realised that Seeker was sat on the step before her, shooting her a quizzical glance at her antics. Lyra laughed nervously before seating herself on the step next to Seeker. She looked over at him, the rain that had lashed down had soaked his T-shirt and cargo pants, Seeker had his knees up to his chest and had rested his arms over the top, letting them hang loosely in the air. No expression graced Seeker's face , leaving it an emotionless mask, Lyra realised due to his hunched position that she was head height with him.

"Seeker?" Lyra started, "Are... Are you all right?"

"No, honestly." Seeker replied, "It's not everyday that I have to re-tell the most frightening 3 minutes of my life..."

Lyra cautiously wrapped her hooves around Seeker in a comforting hug, she didn't really know _why_ she had hugged him, it just felt like the right thing to do at the time. Seeker didn't shift from his position right away, however after a while he snaked an arm around Lyra and returned the hug, albeit one-handed, after a while; Lyra spoke up.

"I'm sorry, we shouldn't have pressured you into it." Lyra murmured.

"No... Don't be." Seeker stopped her, "To be honest it actually feels better to get it off my chest..."

They sat in silence for a while, perfectly content with holding each other, Seeker raised his head as the rain began to clear, the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. It's rays shone down upon the two, basking them in a warm yellow glow. Seeker was about to close his eyes and let the warm sun dry his clothes when he noticed something odd. He looked behind him, sure enough, his and Lyra's shadow was cast upon the door, like he expected. Seeker turned his gaze forward, the anomaly was still there... He tensed.

"Lyra."

"Hmm.. Yes?" She had obviously dozed off slightly.

"Tell me, is there only _one_ sun in Equestria?" Seeker asked. "Or is there another hidden one I should know about?"

"What? There's only one sun..." Lyra looked up at the sun hanging lazily in the sky, before indicating to their shadows behind them. "See, there are our shadows."

"Then why do I have another shadow?"

Lyra gasped, Seeker did in fact have another shadow, directly in front of him. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed... Fake. Lyra opened her mouth to warn Seeker.

The creature, sensing it had been discovered, extended to it's full height in front of Seeker and Lyra. Both of them jumped up as the creature reared up and screamed at the pair. It was one of the creatures from before, somehow it must've tailed them from the forest and followed them here!

"Lyra, go inside, get my knife." Seeker ordered.

Lyra didn't move.

"Knife. NOW."

She bolted indoors just as the creature lunged at Seeker, causing the man to grunt as he was thrown to the ground. Lyra turned and slammed the door, Bon Bon bolted it shut, fear evident in her eyes once more. The sounds of fighting outside spurred Lyra on as she dashed upstairs and ran into the spare room, her eyes rested on Seeker's tactical vest, her prize attached to the top left part of it. She tried to pull it off with her magic but to no avail, in desperation, she gripped what appeared to be the handle with her teeth and pulled. The knife came free, Lyra picked it up with her magic and ran back down the stairs, past the bewildered Bon Bon and towards the door, she fumbled with the lock before wrenching the door open with her teeth and galloping outside.

"Lyra!"

She felt the knife be wrenched out of her magical grip as Seeker ran past and snatched it up. He span on his heel facing the creature, he had managed to stun it a couple of times, although he hadn't been able to do any real damage, he was sure his knife would turn the tide of the battle. The creature slammed into him with a cry, Seeker's brain froze for a moment as the wind was knocked out of him, the creature reared up and prepared to maul the prone human. Seeker's reflexes kicked in as he rolled out of the way, he pushed himself onto one knee and grabbed the confused creature by it's right arm, pulling it towards him and exposing the creature's neck and shoulder. Seeker saw his chance, he stabbed the knife in-between the creature's collar-bone _should_ be, it roared in pain and stumbled to the floor, Seeker twisted and pulled the knife out with one hand while pulling the creature up to him, sending a spray of black blood out from the creature's neck. In one fluid motion, Seeker jammed the knife under the creature's jaw, it struggled in vain, only adding to it's pain. It gurgled a couple of times before Seeker felt it go limp, he grabbed the creature by the shoulder and yanked his knife out of the creature's 'gullet', sending another spray of the black liquid everywhere. He dropped the creature, watching carefully as the creature crashed into the dirt, Seeker hesitated before crouching down next to the Human-sized monstrosity, he paused again, before bringing his knife across the creature's exposed throat, just to be sure.

Lyra had pressed herself against the door of the house as the two fought, she gradually pushed herself away from the door when Seeker stood up after doing something to the creature's throat. The man turned around and Lyra gasped, he had a long gash that ran from his left shoulder to the middle of his chest, along with other tiny guts and bruises on his arms and face. Seeker seemed to notice her staring and looked down to reveal his injury to himself, he dabbed the cut with his finger, wincing as it made contact.

"T-That was... frightening..." Lyra not holding back her fear any more.

"You and me both..." Seeker grunted as he limped towards the door, he must've strained his ankle during the fight.

"That doesn't hurt?..." Lyra asked as she held the door open for him.

"I'm a hard bastard, I'll live." Seeker grinned slightly as he ambled back into the house.

Bon Bon had been in tears as she had watched the fight from inside, growing more and more scared, but when the creature's 'blood' hit the window it became too much and she broke down on the sport at the scene in front of her. She looked up from her foetal position on the floor as Seeker staggered into the room, a large cut on his chest, he went over to the sink and began to wash out the cut. Lyra trotted in next, she let out a gasp of surprise as she noticed her friend weeping on the floor, she dashed over to her as Seeker began the unpleasant task of patching himself up without any medical supplies. He collapsed into one of the chairs, which protested loudly as the Human sat onto it with such force.

"L-Lyra... Oh Celestia.. I was so worried!..." She sniffed as she looked up at her friend, her eyes red with tears. "I-I don't think I can take this... I-I-I..."

Bon Bon broke down into tears, it pained Lyra to see her friend this way, while Bon Bon was a strong Pony. She knew that the scene she just witnessed was horrible enough to jar anypony, why Lyra wasn't in tears herself was beyond her.

"She's going into shock," Seeker spoke from behind Lyra, "Quickly, tell her to take deep breaths, remind her that she is safe. Reassure her!"

Lyra lowered herself down to Bon Bon who had wrapped her hooves over her head and was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Bon Bon, please, take some deep breaths" The cream Mare complied. "Bon Bon, you're perfectly safe, the creature's... 'Gone', and nopony can harm us. Bon Bon... Everything is going to be all right."

Bon Bon leapt up and grabbed Lyra and pulled her into a hug. Lyra patted her back as she waited for her friend to calm down, after a few moments, Bon Bon raised her head up from Lyra's shoulder.

"Th-thanks..." Bon Bon smiled weakly, "Please... I need to just go lie down..."

Lyra let her friend walk slowly out of the kitchen, she heard her crash onto the sofa in the front room and cry quietly. Lyra desperately wanted to go through and comfort her, but she knew her Human friend was still hurt. Lyra turned her attention back to Seeker, who had done a remarkable, if not shoddy, job at tending to his wounds. Seeker's ruined T-Shirt lay on the floor, and he had taken the table cloth off the table in front of him and ripped it with his knife into a long strip which he tied around his chest in a makeshift bandage. The remains of the cream table cloth lay in ribbons on the table, and Seeker sat with his crude bandage covering his chest and left shoulder. Blood had already began to stain the cloth he used to cover his wounds, he looked up at Lyra, he nodded at the doorway and told her he was okay, and that she should attend to her friend, he watched her trot out of the room before putting his head in his hands.

"Today... Today has not been a good day.." He muttered before closing his eyes.

* * *

><p><span>Equestria – Canterlot – Canterlot Castle Gardens<span>

Gaz had broken his promise to Fluttershy.

The days events had taken it's toll on him and he quietly excused himself to dash outside and smoke. Celestia had offered for Gaz and the Mane 6 to stay at the Castle, as a way of apologising for her earlier behaviour, they had accepted, with Twilight stating that she can send a letter to Spike to notify him of the change of plans. That was at least an hour ago now, and Gaz was now seated in the beautiful vista of the royal garden, as he stubbed out the end of his cigarette with his hoof, he quietly expressed his gratitude at _not _running into a certain Captain of the Guard. In fact, when he had asked Celestia about Surestrike's whereabouts she seemed as clueless as he was, Gaz shrugged and spotted a bench he could collapse on, he made a bee-line for the bench and flopped, back first, onto the bench. It was only after he shifted slightly that he realised that he was sat on the bench as if he was still Human... He guessed old habits die hard.

Gaz felt himself nodding off as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and warmed his body. A little nap couldn't hurt, so Gaz lay on his side and tucked his legs into the bench so they wouldn't hang over the side. As he dozed, Gaz gazed blankly at the statue in front of him. He hadn't taken time to admire the many statues of the Gardens during his walk, but this one seemed... More interesting than the others, it depicted a creature frozen in a look of horror, it's arms held up in surrender. Gaz could feel sleep claim him, yet he did not tear his gaze from the statue, it's mismatched arms and legs... What on earth was it? And just as he drifted off into slumber, he realised what the statue was.

It was the frozen form of Discord.

Gaz jumped off the bench in a frantic panic, the statue of _Discord_? He cracked a smile, this was awesome! No! He corrected himself, this was not _awesome_, this was Discord! Lord of Chaos! He could do anything, _anything_ at all! But he was trapped wasn't he? Sure enough, the statue of Discord was perfectly intact, so why on earth was he in a study?

Gaz looked around him, he was in what seemed to be a study. A plush red carpet coated the floor and wood panelling graced the ceiling and roof. Small lights protruded from the walls and thousands of books graced the many bookshelves around him, Gaz ambled up to one of the shelves and reached out and pulled one of the books down from the shelf. He turned it over in his hands so he could see the front cover, there was no inscription on the cover. Wait... Gaz looked down, he had hands, Gaz looked to discover he was Human again. He suddenly realised that he must be dreaming if he was back in his Human body. Looking around the room, two wing-back chairs faced a fireplace which crackled and popped as the flames licked the charred wood. What the hell was this place?

"I can answer that question..." Proclaimed a voice from near the fireplace.

"Who said that?" Gaz asked.

"I did."

From one of the Wing back chairs rose a man, his grey hair was brushed back over his head, it contained a streak of white on one side and a streak of blue on the other, . The man wore a burgundy colour suit with a greyish-brown shirt but what drew Gaz's attention was his right arm, which was seemingly yellow, uncovered by the suit, and most importantly mechanical. The man turned to face Gaz, he adjusted his tie revealing his normal hand was covered by a yellow glove, he stroked his scruffy goatee as he smirked at Gaz revealing a long tooth that looked very out of place. It was only when Gaz stared into his mismatched yellow and red eyes, that he realised who the man was.

"D-Discord?"

"_Ding-Ding-Ding_! We have a winner!" a small amount of confetti rained from the ceiling, "So what would you like for your prize? I've got 15,000 in cash, or-"

"I'd just like some answers, Discord..." Gaz held up his hands to stop him.

"Ugh, so boring... Honestly, those Ponies have rubbed off on you too much!" Discord folded his arms and collapsed in one of the chairs. "Come, take a seat and we'll get started."

Gaz hesitantly walked over to one of the chairs and placed himself in one, Discord reclined in his chair before snapping his fingers, causing a bottle of red wine and two glasses to appear and float next to him. The wine poured itself before vanishing, Discord plucked the two glasses from the air and offered one to Gaz.

"It's... not poisoned or anything?" He asked, pointing at the glass.

"Oh come now! I may be the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos but I am certainly not evil!" Discord pouted and gave Gaz a look which made him question whether his statement was true or not.

Grudgingly, Gaz took one of the glasses and took a small sip from it, he had expected the bitter taste of red wine to grace his taste-buds, but instead was met with the sweet, thick taste of...

"Chocolate milk?" Gaz couldn't help but crack a small smile at Discord, who shrugged and swirled his glass absent-mindedly.

"I assumed you had better questions to be asking..." The Spirit muttered in a bored tone.

Taking the hint, Gaz fired off his first of his questions.

"How... How are you..._ speaking_ to me? Shouldn't you be trapped inside a statue?"

"I was not trapped inside a statue, I was the statue!" Discord waved an arm erratically, "However, it does not mean I was not without power..."

Gaz stared at Discord as he seemingly drifted off, an awkward silence hung in the air, before Discord moved again with an upset look on his face.

"Oh, I see... Those flash-backs don't work on me do they?" Discord mumbled before shaking a fist at the ceiling, "Merely saving those for the main characters are we?"

Gaz looked up to see... A roof, there was no-one there. He _would've_ shot Discord a confused look if it wasn't... Well, if he wasn't Discord. After a brief moment of silence Gaz coughed and brought Discord back to 'reality'.

"You where saying?"

"Ah yes, long story short I used what little power I had to invade your dream." Discord replied nonchalantly.

"You're... Not going to explain how?" Gaz inquired.

Discord merely tapped the bridge of his nose, "I'm allowed to keep _some_ secrets aren't I?"

Gaz frowned and Discord chuckled at his expression, however his laughter was short lived and he quickly returned to his bored state.

"Okay then," Gaz stroked his chin, then gestured to Discord, "What's with the getup?"

"I merely altered my appearance on the basis it was a _Humans_ mind I was entering." Discord brushed his suit with his 'eagle' arm,"However I must say Mr. Mason, your choice of décor should be praised."

"So... this is, my mind?" Gaz asked.

"Yes," Discord snapped his fingers and the two wine glasses disappeared, along with their contents. "Now go on, next question."

"Why are you here?"

Gaz saw Discord grip the arms of the chair rather tightly as he pondered over the question. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself multiple times before actually uttering anything. When he did however, all sense of mirth or boredom was lost from his voice, and he leaned towards Gaz, the fire giving Discord and eerie glow.

"Listen _very_ carefully." Discord spoke, "Because this is extremely important. There are forces at work that go beyond your very level of imagination, Celestia and Luna refuse to acknowledge their existence, but _I_ do. _I _know the warning signs, and I could see them as soon as I broke out from my stone prison after my imprisonment. I had hoped... That Celestia and Luna would not stick their heads in the sand, but alas..."

"Please Discord." Gaz gripped the bridge of his nose, in no mood for Discord's theatrics, "Cut the fat, get to the point."

"_What_ I am saying is that you, are not alone here. There are more of you, as in Humans. They may come to be valuable allies or your bitter foes, and it is how _you_ handle yourself from this point onwards that will dictate that." Discord smirked for a moment, "However, there is something else out there, deep in the Everfree, that is older and possibly more wiser than both me or Celestia, and if you think _I'm_ evil! Oh boy, wait 'till you see this... Thing!"

"Discord. _Why_ are you telling me this?" Gaz asked, he knew better than to press the issue of more Humans in Equestria. I mean, they'd already been here before him, _long_ before in fact.

"While I may not be active ruler on my own kingdom, I would like it to stay intact until my inevitable return to power." Discord placed a hand against his chest and lifted the other one in the air in a dignified pose. "Now, I'm going to make you wake up, you-"

"WAIT!" Gaz spluttered, Discord raised an amused brow, "Celestia mentioned something about Humans being here before, as in Equestria..."

Discord's expression turned sour, "Did she now?"

"She said that... We, where responsible for... Your creation and Nightmare Moon."

"That is correct."

"Are you... Going to shed any light on this?"

"No."

"Um... Why?"

"Because," Discord leaned back in his chair, "I _do _actually have some respect for dear old 'Tia and Lulu." Gaz was taken aback at the sudden longing that tinged his voice. "Not a lot, considering they overthrew my rule and turned me to stone for a thousand years, but I have some respect for them. If Celestia did not tell you everything about my or Nightmare Moon's Human origins than she probably wouldn't like it if I told you either."

"Since when do you care about Celestia's wishes?" Gaz retorted, "I mean, don't you enjoy messing with her?"

"Gareth Mason I have no time for this, you must act quickly, as the end is drawing near. All I can say to you is this: help awaits you in Ponyville." Discord stood up suddenly, "Now begone with you!"

Gaz didn't have time to react as he found himself fall off the bench he had been sleeping and land face-first in the dirt with a yell. He got up onto his hooves, noticing he was now a Pony again, he looked up at the Discord statue. He stared at it for a moment before noticing the Moon rising behind it, casting an eerie glow over the gardens.

_How long have I been out?_

Gaz uttered a silent "Thanks" to Discord, whether he could hear him or not, and galloped off to fins the Mane 6.

* * *

><p><strong>I am fairly pleased with this one...<strong>

**I got a chance to include in my favourite character! I based Human Discord's appearance of a picture I saw of a Humanised Discord, you can find it if you search for it on Google if you fancy a look.**

**Also, longest chapter to date! I aim to increase each chapter by a page everytime, so let's see... This one's at a good 12 pages on LibreOffice, expect Chapter 18 to 13-14 pages long!**

**One more thing, massive kudos to the guys in the military out there. You have my eternal thanks.  
><strong>

**Remember to R&R, and that constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Take care of yourselves.**

**~TRW**


	18. Coming to terms

**Life on Mars**

**Chapter 18**

* * *

><p><span>Earth – Unknown location <span>_(20__th__ January 1981)_

_Robert West walked down the hall of the underground facility, briefly checking the time-piece he had strapped to the underside of his wrist periodically, as if in anticipation of an oncoming event. West pushed open a large set of double doors into a large open-area of the compound, revealing Project Gatekeeper to the young man. Project Gatekeeper was the result of the U.S.' arms-race with the now crumbling U.S.S.R., whilst the 'Great Bear' was seemingly tearing itself apart, talks with the Soviet Union in general had reached an all time low__._

_Their President, Ronald Reagan, had tried numerous times to come into contact with the Soviet leader: __Leonid Brezhnev, but as of now the U.S. Was receiving no contact from the Kremlin, or even all of the U.S.S.R., they had seemingly closed all communications with the outside world. Project Gatekeeper was commissioned by Richard Nixon back in his first term in office in 1957, ever since then, it has been secretly kept under wraps by the government. People working on it day and night just to get the damn thing working, and now... 24 years after it's beginnings, it was ready._

_West was greeted with salutes from the personnel on deck, despite at the relatively young age of 27, West had proven himself during the Vietnam war, and was subsequently hand-picked for a 'special assignment'. When West had arrived at the facility, he was handed some fatigues and told to simply report to the main chamber in 20 minutes. So when West found himself in the shadow of Project Gatekeeper, he couldn't help but stare in awe, he only snapped out of it when a man pulled him off to the side._

"_Corporal West, I'm glad you made it." The men shook hands, "Frank Sanderson, CIA, I'll be overseeing this operation."_

_West was taken aback by the man's seemingly friendly attitude, "Sir, what exactly is this... Operation?"_

"_Operation Gatekeeper, not much more I can tell you until later." Sanderson waved over a worker,_

"_Would you mind escorting the Corporal here to the barracks?"_

"_Sir, yes sir!" The man replied._

"_We'll send someone down to get you in the morning, get some rest for now." Sanderson nodded to the two men, "Dismissed gentlemen." _

* * *

><p>Equestria – Ponyville <em>(Present Day)<em>

Seeker grumbled as he fumbled with his rifle as he reassembled the hard resin frame of the F2000, the rifle was designed to be user-friendly, and as such did not require tools to disassemble. He hefted the rifle when he was finished and briefly inspected the sight-picture before placing it back down on the floor.

The mercenary hadn't slept much last night, partly due to the fact that he had to wear the obstructive suit during the night, and partly due to the previous day's events. Seeker rose from his place on the floor in the corner of the room, he'd made his way downstairs after a few hours sleep and spent a good few hours checking over his equipment. He raised his hand and gingerly pressed the area on his chest where his wound was located, a dull throb echoed throughout his chest in response, it would be a while yet before that would heal properly.

Seeker glanced briefly at the watch on the underside of his wrist, which read 4:30am, unsure whether the time-piece was correct or not, he stole a glance outside the nearby window. The sun was beginning to creep over the horizon, painting the sky a vibrant mix of oranges and reds, flecks of purple also graced the sky where the night still shone through. For unknown reasons, Seeker marched across the room, into the kitchen, unlocked the back door and stepped outside. He was confident that he wouldn't be seen, as he doubted any of the Ponies where up and about yet.

A small smile crept over Seeker's helmeted face as he watched the sunrise, marvelling at the beauty of the serene landscape. His smile faltered however when he drew his gaze downwards to see a large black splodge on the grass where the Creature had taken it's last breath. Seeker had dragged the corpse away from the property and buried it in the brush before washing the stains from the window of Bon Bon's house. He thought back to the prior day's events, the discovery of the small town 'Ponyville', the capture of Lyra, the death of his squad mates...

Seeker thought about his mission... Horowitz had said they had two days to prepare, and that they would send back-up early in the day.

Seeker went pale under his helmet.

Today was _the_ day.

He leapt to his feet and stormed into the house, not caring whether he woke the sleeping occupants, he dashed up the stairs and into the room with his kit in it. He almost tripped over his bed-roll on the floor as he made a bee-line for his equipment. Lyra stirred under the covers of her bed as Seeker threw on his tactical vest, she rubbed her eyes with her hooves when she saw the mercenary pick up his rifle and insert a fresh magazine into the rear of the firearm.

"S-Seeker?" Lyra yawned, "What are you doing?"

Seeker stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Today is the day we where supposed to get reinforcements..." He dead panned.

"You're... You're not going back to them are you?..." Lyra asked as she slowly climbed out of her bed.

At this point Bon Bon walked out onto the landing in a night-gown, a look of tired annoyance across her face. She marched, bleary eyed, towards Seeker.

"What in Equestria do you think you're doing? In this house-..." She faltered when her vision cleared and she noticed him stood there in his combat gear.

Seeker ignored Bon Bon's outburst, "I'm... conflicted." He answered Lyra's question, "I'm not sure at the moment."

"But you can't!" Lyra gasped, "After everything we've done..."

"I said I don't know!" Seeker snapped, causing both Lyra and Bon Bon to step back from the Human, "They're my only chance at a way home!"

"Is that it?..." Lyra asked, feeling the onset of tears in her vision. "You only... used us..."

"What?" Seeker turned to her, feeling hurt and angry at Lyra's accusation, "Is that what you think? That I used you and Bon Bon for my benefit?"

"...Yes."

Seeker looked dumbfounded behind his helmet, "I don't believe this shit..." He turned away from her and began descending the stairs.

"Don't you close me off Jason Cooper!" Lyra shouted after him.

Seeker halted in his tracks at the use of his real name, he turned about face and marched back up the stairs towards Lyra and Bon Bon.

"What did you say?..." He asked quietly.

"You heard me!..." Lyra fought back the tears.

"How did you find out my name?..." Seeker asked, keeping eerily calm.

"I er... _may_ have read them off the metal things hanging around your neck when you were sleeping..." Lyra sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, whilst reviving raised eye-brows from Bon Bon. Seeker meanwhile raised his free hand to his neck and grasped the chain which held his circular dog-tags in place, just to make sure they where still there.

"But that's besides the point!You said to me yesterday that you wouldn't let anything happen to anypony here, and yet here you are, ready to go join them in invading our kingdom!" Lyra stomped a hoof as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, "You promised me... Jason... You promised us. Are you really going to go back and join them?..."

"Lyra.." Seeker hung his head, "You said your Princess might be able to get me home, correct?"

".Y-yes..." Lyra sniffed.

"If that you can _guarantee _to me, that she will be able to send me home and that she will, I won't join the rest of the forces coming here." Seeker folded his arms.

"How can you say _that_?" Lyra yelled, "How can you stand there and blatantly tell us that you are going back to them, just so you can kill us?"

"I never said that!" Seeker raised his voice again, "I said I will go back to them! I never said anything about continuing with the attack! We didn't know whether or not the inhabitants of this realm where peaceful or not, never mind sapient like us, the firearms." Seeker nodded to his F2000, "Where for our own protection! The only reason we came here is for _resources_! Oil, Coal... Fossil Fuels! We can have talks between our leaders and yours, we can share technology.."

"Seeker..." Bon Bon interrupted him, "I think we all know that's not going to happen..."

Seeker hung his head as the truth hit him hard.

"Then how do I stop them!" Seeker turned to her, "How do I stop at a battalion of soldiers all on my own?"

"You have us." Lyra looked up at Seeker, Bon Bon shook her head rapidly in response. "Well... Me, you're not on your own Jason, we're your friends."

_Friends?... _Seeker thought.

It struck the Soldier as very odd that these Equines, well one of them at least, would consider him their friend after less than a day of interaction. It was obvious that this species was much more trusting than humanity... Seeker looked into Lyra's reddened eyes. He tore his gaze after a few moments and steered it towards Bon Bon, who was staring at him with equal amount of worry, albeit with a less teary face.

"Lyra. Ward please."

Lyra raised her head at her name, and cast the ward spell on the Soldier as he took off his tactical vest. Seeker waited until she nodded her head at it's completion, before releasing the clasps on his suit. He quickly ripped the suit off, revealing his bloodstained T-shirt and combats. Seeker threw the suit into the room he slept in before placing the boots back on, followed by the tactical vest. Swiping up his F2000 he disengaged the safety and racked the charging handle, he looked up at the two Ponies.

"I'm sorry... Both of you, for what I said. If there was anyway to take it back I would..." Seeker grinned slightly, "Now if you excuse me, I've got an army to stop."

He paused at the top of the stairs, looking back to the two dumbfounded Ponies.

"You coming Lyra?"

The Pony in question looked to her cream coloured friend, a look of horror across her face, Bon Bon stepped forward and whispered in her ear.

"Lyra, you aren't really going to go with him are you?"

The musically gifted Unicorn looked to the Human who stood patiently at the top of the stairs, almost moments ago she was furious with him, she was also hurt, at how quickly he could forget their friendship... But he'd came to his senses eventually... Lyra looked back to Bon Bon, a quizzical look gracing her features.

"Sorry Bon Bon." The Unicorn whispered back to her friend before trotting off past the human on the stairs, "C'mon tough guy."

Seeker shook his head, mouthed a quick 'sorry' to Bon Bon, before following Lyra downstairs. Bon Bon sat down on the landing before rubbing her temples with her hooves, muttering something about "Living in a mad-house."

The sun had risen further in the sky by the time Seeker and Lyra had retraced their respective foot and hoof prints back to Charlie-Three-One's camp site. Much like Seeker had anticipated, had been trashed by the last stand of the remaining members of Charlie-Three-One, the AST and been removed from it's hidden position and crushed, forcing it to shut down. It was strange, there where no bodies...

Well, if their suits where ruptured... There wouldn't be.

The remains of tents fluttered in the gentle breeze as Seeker motioned for Lyra to get behind a fallen tree. Seeker checked his wristwatch, 7:00am, he shuffled impatiently as time trickled along at a snails pace.

"We might be too late.." Lyra murmured.

"No," Seeker replied, "There'd have been signs that they'd arrived, by the looks of things, nobody's been here since us..."

Seeker settled lightly on the floor, getting ready for the long haul, Lyra followed suit, seating herself next to the Human.

It was going to a long wait.

* * *

><p>Equestria – Somewhere in the skies between Canterlot and Ponyville <em>(30 minutes earlier)<em>

Gaz didn't realise it was possible to be chariot sick.

He had hung himself over the edge of the chariot as it soared through the air being pulled by Celestia's Pegasai guard. The Mane 6 had seated themselves into orderly rows: Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash in the front – and Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy in the rear, whilst Gaz had squeezed in behind the lot of them in the back. The cramped space combined with the gentle sway of the carriage eventually caused Gaz to bring back his, frankly, delicious breakfast within a few minutes of the journey.

"H-how much further?..." Gaz croaked over his shoulder.

"Not far," Twilight shouted back to him, "Another 10 minutes or so!"

"Oooh" Gaz hung his head over the edge when he felt another surge in his stomach, just wishing it would end.

Gaz staggered off the chariot, feeling a little weak in the knees (as well as being a little green in the face.) The Pegasus Guards pulling the chariot snorted, before taking to the skies once more, presumably to return to Canterlot Castle. Gaz breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh countryside air, he patted his satchel, glad to have the bag back in his possession. A slight jingling sound emanated from the bag as he patted it, before their departure, Luna had stopped Gaz and handed him a sum of Bits, (which Gaz didn't bother to count, the bag's weight spoke for itself), as a way of saying sorry. Gaz did make a snide remark at how you can't "Throw money at your problems to make them disappear." to which Luna had joked saying that she "Would've thrown it at all of the bureaucrats and busy-bodies if it worked." More importantly however, both Celestia and Luna had drafted up some documents for Gaz; effectively granting him Equestrian Citizenship, Celestia had promised him that she would find him a way home as soon as possible.

A small grin crept over Gaz's face as he remembered the-

"_You must act quickly, as the end is drawing near, all I can say to you is this: help awaits you in Ponyville."_

Gaz frowned as Discord's words echoed in his mind, he'd mentioned that there where more Humans here... Where they the help in Ponyville he mentioned? Of course they where... Gaz still had a problem though, after last night's events, he had gone straight to bed, and as such, not told any of the Mane 6 what had happened, and rightly so, he doubted that they would take kindly to 'conversing with the enemy'. Nevertheless, Gaz felt he would have to inform them of his and Discord's 'exchange' the night before, he cleared his throat slightly in trepidation.

"Girls?..." They turned to him, Gaz suddenly felt rather nervous, "L-last night, I may have had a... 'chat' with one of your old friends."

"Who sugercube?" Applejack spoke up.

"Er... Discord."

"WHAT!" They yelled, causing Gaz to wince, they where about to continue, but Gaz put up a hoof.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Gaz cut them off, "Look, last night I went for a walk... just.. to clear my head, I _may_ have fallen asleep in front of the statue of Discord and I _may _have shared a glass of chocolate milk inside my mind and he _may _have told me some important information."

A stunned silence gripped the group, it was almost frightening.

"Go on..." Twilight urged.

Gaz sighed, "He warned me, some thing's coming, he didn't really tell me what it was... He just said 'If you think I'm evil? Wait till you get a load of this... Thing!'..."

The girls exchanged worried glances.

"There was more." Gaz closed his eyes, "He said there was more of me, as in Humans, here in Ponyville." Gaz re-opened his eyes to find the Girls staring at him curiously, "He said they could be our best allies or bitter foes depending on how _I_ handle myself from now..."

Gaz scuffed a hoof on the ground, _Why does it have to be my responsibility? It feels like I'm in a really bad fan-fiction!_

For a brief moment, somepony's cough echoed around them and Crickets chirped quietly. Gaz shook his head indecorously, and began walking off towards Ponyville.

"I-er, need some time to clear my head..." Gaz licked his lips deep in thought, "... Twilight I wish to have a look at something in the Library later, is that okay?"

"Y-yes." She replied hesitantly, exchanging glances with the girls.

"All right... Well... I'll see you later." Gaz gave each of them a swift nod and disappeared into Ponyville, leaving the Mane 6 alone and very, very confused.

It wasn't long before Gaz found himself aimlessly wandering the streets of Ponyville, his subconscious seemed to detect his lack of purpose, and directed his body to where he secretly wanted to go.

A Pub.

A few minutes later Gaz was sat at the bar in the 'Pony and Trap', coincidently the same Pub Big Macintosh had tried to coax him into days before, a glass of hard cider sat in front of him; untouched. He was unsure how the added salt would affect him, having a quick glance around, Gaz noted the place seemed like any Pub back home; obviously minus the coloured talking Horses.

Shrugging his shoulders, Gaz swiped up the glass, placed it to his lips, and tipped his head back. Gaz grimaced as the sickly-sweet taste graced his taste buds as he put the glass back down, he hated Cider; it usually reminded him of... well, _urine_. However, this particular brand, 'Hard Apple Cider', seemed to be tolerable, whether it was the added salt or some other special ingredient he'll never know.

"Ah thought ah'd find ya here."

Gaz turned his head to find the Element of Honesty; Applejack, stood behind him with a smirk on her face.

"Human or Pony, the first place ya go ta drown ya sorrows is the bar." She chuckled as she pulled up a stool and sat down next to Gaz. "What's botherin' ya Sugercube?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Gaz took another swig, not even looking at Applejack.

"Ah'm tha Element of Honesty, Gaz." Applejack lightly hit him on the shoulder, "Ah can see right through ya."

"All right, I'll tell you.." Gaz went to take another drink, but found the glass empty, he must've been drinking absently mindedly, he shoved a hoof into his bag and produced the bag of Bits, "Want a drink?"

Applejack shifted in her seat, "Ah might as well, ah do have today and tomorrow off at tha Farm," She smiled at him, "Ah'll have 'Sweet Apple Acres Original'"

Gaz chuckled as he tried to catch the bartender's attention, "Keeping up the brand image, ey Applejack?"

She laughed, "Ah guess you could say that."

Eventually, two cool glasses of Cider where placed in front of the two; Gaz ordering the same as Applejack, he tossed an unknown amount of Bits at the bartender before bringing the glass up towards Applejack, she eyed him curiously.

"Now what're ya doin' that for? I got ma own right here!" She nodded to her drink.

"Wait, you don't do _this_ here?" He gently waved his glass, "Aha, well, just tap your glass against mine before drinking... It's a Human thing."

Applejack paused, raising a brow at Gaz's inept explanation, before gently tapping her glass against Gaz's, causing a definite 'clink!' to ring in the air. Gaz uttered a "Cheers!" and took a swig of his drink, while Applejack just laughed at the eccentric gesture.

"Now, you were gonna tell me what's eatin' ya?" Applejack inquired.

"... Well, it's just... Fluttershy." Gaz mumbled, drawing circles on the bar with his hoof.

"What about her?" Applejack's expression hardened, "Y'all better no-"

"No, Applejack no! That's not what I meant..." Gaz interuppted, sensing where the conversation was heading, "It's the fact that I will have to go home one day, next week, next month, next year? It doesn't matter! Because one day, I _will_ have to leave her and... I'm not sure either of us will take it well..."

Applejack rested a hoof on Gaz's shoulder comfortingly, "Oh sugercube... While you may have to leave one day, don't let that not let ya enjoy the time you're havin' with her now!"

Gaz nodded, slowly getting up off his stool, "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

"H-hey! Where ya goin'?" Applejack asked as Gaz started walking to the exit, drink half empty.

"I need a smoke, I'll be back in a second..." Gaz reared his head and flashed a cheeky grin, "You're a big Mare now Applejack, I'm sure you can take care of yourself for a second."

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, a grin evident on her face.

* * *

><p><span>Earth – Unknown location – (Present Day)<span>

"We need to give them more time Sir!" Shaun Adams protested.

"Request denied," Horowitz shook his head, not raising his eyes from the papers on his desk. "Orders are orders, the Chairman wants us to mobilise at 1800 hours," He stole a glance at his watch, " That's 4 hours you've got to get ready Private, I suggest you get moving."

Adams saluted with a quick 'sir' and left the room, tracing his steps back to the barracks, once outside the office he vented his frustration in the form of a loud sigh. A lot had changed since Charlie-Three-One departed through the CDG, since the project was now 'complete' all of the physically able Science team where drafted into the main force; Adams included. The last 2 days had been non-stop hell, crash courses in weapon safety and discipline, and enough drill routines to make basic training seem like a walk in the park.

Stepping into the Science team's quarters (now a secondary Barracks for troops), Adams found his cot and flung himself down on it in the manner of a frustrated Teenager. He had no desire to go fight, even if everyone was told "We're only here for resources!" and "The weapons are a safety precaution!" all of the staff knew something was out there, through the CDG, whether it was hostile or not was another story entirely.

Looking off to his left, he saw a group of three soldiers, well he presumed they where soldiers, for all he knew they could be former techs like him. Impossible to tell from behind their helmets, as they where kitted out in an, arguably, more advanced version of the suits Charlie-Three-One donned to travel safely through the CDG. Adams used the term 'advanced' _lightly_ at best, as they were merely the exact same suits at heart, however these where hard sealed using plates of was complex polymers and ceramics, with a flexible body suit interwoven with thermal-dissipative membranes and bulletproof material. It was initially designed to protect key sections of the human body from ballistic trauma with hard armoured plates and keep the suit intact in heavier engagements. Adams frowned as he observed the three men in the clunky DPM camouflage suits, what they traded for in strength, they lacked in mobility, they where nowhere near as flexible as the 'prototype' SE suits as the former Techs used to call them (SE standing for Safe-Entry), and while the older suits could be easily thrown on and off, the newer, armoured versions sometimes required at least two people to get it off one man, due to the amount of seals that needed to be broken.

Adams sighed and lay on his side, buried deep in thought. He thought about how the CDG's pylons had been moved to a larger area of the compound, more specifically, near the vehicle depot. They wanted to try and get larger objects through, Jeeps, ATVs, Tanks even. Hell! One of former scientists said it was perfectly feasible to get a Jet through the CDG, provided there was enough room on the other side and that the pilot was properly protected. Adams muttered something about the foolishness of men and toys before sitting up and placing his hands on his knees, tired of wallowing on his cot.

_God dammit Jason, wherever the hell you are... If you're still alive... I hope you're alive buddy._

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not dead.<strong>

**No, I have merely been sat on the sidelines for a while... For two reasons actually.**

**To get my creative brain back on track**

**To watch new and interesting stories develop.**

**Noteworthy examples of number 2 are "The Memoirs of a Reality Jumper" by Techogre (or Daniel Gallant to those reading on FF . net and not FiM fiction!) and, the now complete, "Whiplash" by Molotov Cocktail. Both fantastic stories in their own right; I can only hope to emulate their storytelling prowess.**

**One can dream can't he?**

**~TRW**

**PS: youtube .com/watch?v=s7Jq1xbQwqw**

**This is for you guys, for being patient, just pretend Mr. Morrison is singing about you. 3**


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